Enhanced catalytic behavior of Ni alloys in steam methane reforming

The dissociation process of methane on Ni and Ni alloys are investigated by density functional theory (DFT) in terms of catalytic efficiency and carbon deposition. Examining the dissociation to CH₃, CH₂, CH, C, and H is not sufficient to properly predict the catalytic efficiency and carbon deposition, and further investigation of the CO gas-evolving reaction is required to completely understand methane dissociation in steam. The location of alloying element in Ni alloy needed be addressed from the results of ab-inito molecular dynamics (MD). The reaction pathway of methane dissociation associated with CO gas evolution is traced by performing first-principles calculations of the adsorption and activation energies of each dissociation step. During the dissociation process, two alternative reaction steps producing adsorbed C and H or adsorbed CO are critically important in determining coking inhibition as well as H₂ gas evolution (i.e., the catalytic efficiency). The theoretical calculations presented here suggest that alloying Ni with Ru is an effective way to reduce carbon deposition and enhance the catalytic efficiency of H₂ fueling in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs).