Multicomponent metal nanoparticles supported on nickel foam for efficient catalytic decomposition of vaporized hydrogen peroxide

Residual high-concentration vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) after disinfection poses a significant threat to human health and the disinfection space. The considerable concerns make it necessary to develop efficient catalysts for VHP decomposition. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) porous Ni foam (NF)-based multicomponent nanocomposites were fabricated via a facile in-situ hydrothermal method. The effect of the composition and content of elements on the catalytic decomposition of VHP was studied. The AlCrFePt0.64/NF catalyst exhibits the best catalytic performance among all catalysts and requires only 59 min to reduce the VHP concentration from 250 ppm to 1 ppm. Furthermore, the AlCrFePt0.64/NF shows superior stability and no obvious change in VHP decomposition performance after ten recycling tests. The decomposition of VHP follows a pseudofirst-order kinetics rate law. The catalytic decomposition mechanism of VHP proceeds through O-O splitting and consecutive H-transfer reactions. The enhanced catalytic activity of the AlCrFePt0.64/NF is ascribed to the synergetic effect of noble-metal Pt and transition metals, which leads to the presence of initially larger amounts of surface O* and HO* species, and lower activation energy of the O-O bond splitting.