Catalytic activity of Au–Pd/KIT-6 catalysts on the formic acid decomposition: investigation of calcination temperature and Pd:Au composition

Hydrogen storage and transportation by chemicals like formic acid (FA) is an important strategy for the suitable application of hydrogen as a green fuel. In the present study, the application of bimetallic Pd/Au catalysts supported on KIT-6 mesoporous silica for catalytic decomposition of formic is investigated. The effect of calcination temperature as well as Au:Pd ratio in Au–Pd/KIT-6 catalysts on FA dehydrogenation reaction in the aqueous media was studied. Among the catalysts used, Au1–Pd17/KIT-6 which calcined at 350 °C by having 0.2% Au and 0.27% Pd, showed the best activity by releasing a total gas volume of 142 mL. The sample was exposed to oxygen fellow for activation before the FA decomposition reaction. The optimum reaction conditions were 1 mL FA (98%), 1 mL sodium formate (1 M), and 65 °C. The results showed the calcination temperature plays a critical role in the catalytic activity of these bimetallic catalysts. Also, it was confirmed that both the metal-support and the metal–metal interactions are responsible for production of hydrogen from formic acid. The physicochemical properties of samples were analyzed by various techniques such as SEM, XRD, ICP-EOS, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The selected catalyst was regenerated and reused for four successive runes.