Tu Kunkun, Büchele Simon, Mitchell Sharon, Stricker Laura, Liu Chun, Goldhahn Christian, Allaz Julien, Ding Yong, Günther Roman, Zhang Zhidong, Sun Jianguo, Stucki Sandro, Panzarasa Guido, Zeeman Samuel C, Burgert Ingo, Pérez-Ramírez Javier, Keplinger Tobias
Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
WoodTec Group, Cellulose & Wood Materials, EMPA, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2022 Feb 16;14(6):8417-8426. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c22850. Epub 2022 Feb 2.
The development of controlled processes for continuous hydrogen generation from solid-state storage chemicals such as ammonia borane is central to integrating renewable hydrogen into a clean energy mix. However, to date, most reported platforms operate in batch mode, posing a challenge for controllable hydrogen release, catalyst reusability, and large-scale operation. To address these issues, we developed flow-through wood-based catalytic microreactors, characterized by inherent natural oriented microchannels. The prepared structured catalysts utilize silver-promoted palladium nanoparticles supported on metal-organic framework (MOF)-coated wood microreactors as the active phase. Catalytic tests demonstrate their highly controllable hydrogen production in continuous mode, and by adjusting the ammonia borane flow and wood species, we reach stable productivities of up to 10.4 cm min cm. The modular design of the structured catalysts proves readily scalable. Our versatile approach is applicable for other metals and MOF combinations, thus comprising a sustainable and scalable platform for catalytic dehydrogenations and applications in the energy-water nexus.