Enhanced Fe–Cr dispersion on mesoporous silica support using surfactant-assisted melt-infiltration for the water-gas shift reaction in waste-to-hydrogen processes

Iron-chromium/SBA-15 (Fe-Cr/SBA-15) catalysts for high-temperature water-gas shift re-actions (HTS) were prepared using the surfactant-assisted melt-infiltration (SAMI) method. The SAMI method was used to synthesize an efficient catalyst that could simultaneously achieve high dispersion and loading (Fe: 40 wt% and Cr/Fe molar ratio: 0.25) without a liquid solution. According to X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy analyses, it was observed that the Span60 surfactant enhanced Fe3O4 particle dispersion. N2 adsorption-desorption analysis indicated that the Fe3O4 and chromium oxide particles were thoroughly infiltrated inside the mesopores of the SBA-15 support. XRD and temperature-programmed-reduction analyses revealed that the well-dispersed Fe3O4 acted as active sites for the HTS reaction when Span60 was added to the Fe-Cr catalyst. In other words, the Fe-Cr catalyst synthesized via SAMI exhibited better performance and stability for the HTS reaction than that prepared without the surfactant.& COPY; 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.