Catalytic properties of Ni₃Al for hydrogen production reactions

Ni₃Al has attractive high temperature properties, such as high strength and good oxidation/corrosion resistance, and is possible to be used for high temperature chemical processing and manufacture. Until now, the catalytic properties of Ni₃Al were rarely investigated since the leaching of aluminum from Ni₃Al is difficult to obtain a porous Raney-Ni compared to NiAl₃ and Ni₂Al₃. In the present work, the catalytic properties of Ni₃Al were examined for hydrogen production reactions from methanol. It was found that alkali-leached Ni₃Al showed high activity for methanol decomposition (CH₃OH→2H ₂+CO). Furthermore, Ni₃Al catalysts suppress the formation of methane, i.e. they show higher selectivity for the methanol decomposition reaction than Ni catalyst. These results indicate a possibility for Ni ₃Al used as a catalyst for hydrogen production reaction.