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Effect of cathodic hydrogen charging on catalytic activity of Cu-Hf amorphous alloys

Marcin Pisarek 2Maria Janik-Czachor 1Annett Gebert 3Piotr Kędzierzawski 1Bulcsú Rác 4

1. Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Kasprzaka 44/52, Warszawa 01-224, Poland
2. Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering (InMat), Wołoska 141, Warszawa 02-507, Poland
3. Institut fuer Metallische Werkstoffe, IFW, Dresden, Germany
4. Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

Abstract

Hydrogen is one of the most efficient embrittling atomic species introducing both structural and chemical changes in solid materials and eventually, causing their degradation. This highly detrimental effect - when controlled - may, however, be used in benefit of e.g. enhancing catalytic activity of materials by increasing their specific surface area and modifying surface chemistry. This method was used to activate Cu-Hf (Cu65Hf35, Cu61Hf39) amorphous alloys for catalytic purposes.
Hydrogen charging at i=1 mA/cm2 in alkaline solution (0.1M NaOH) was used to study the effect of hydrogenation on morphology and crystallization processes. A similar procedure was applied in acid solution (0.1M H2SO4) to introduce more hydrogen and more pronounced morphological and structural changes. The samples were then catalytically tested for dehydrogenation of 2-propanol. The efficiency increased up to 50% at selectivities close to 100%. The structural, chemical and morphological changes were followed with: XRD, AFM, SEM, X-ray electron probe microanalysis (EDS). H/Me ratio was determined by elemental analysis.

This work was supported by the State Committee for Scientific Research under grant 7T08C02524

 

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Related papers

Presentation: poster at E-MRS Fall Meeting 2003, Symposium B, by Marcin Pisarek
See On-line Journal of E-MRS Fall Meeting 2003

Submitted: 2003-08-28 13:52
Revised:   2009-06-08 12:55