Molten Salts as a Promising Medium for the Synthesis of Highly Active Catalytic Coatings

The joint electroreduction of CO32- and MoO42- ions on a molybdenum cathode in a NaCl-KCl-Li2CO3-Na2MoO4 melt was studied by cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical synthesis of Mo2C on molybdenum and graphite substrates has been performed. In all cases Mo2C coatings with the hexagonal lattice were obtained. The molybdenum carbide coatings on a molybdenum substrate (Mo2C/Mo) show catalytic activity in the water gas shift (WGS) reaction at least three orders of magnitude higher than that of the bulk Mo2C phase. It was found that the H2S does not affect on the activity, stability, and selectivity of the catalyst.