Non-precious molybdenum-based catalyst derived from biomass: CO-free hydrogen production from formic acid at low temperature

[Display omitted] •CO-free H2 yielded from HCOOH over non-precious Mo2C/γ-Mo2N catalyst was obtained.•HCOOH conversion reached above 80% with 100% H2 selectivity at 110 °C.•α-Mo2C and assistant γ-Mo2N and K were responsible for the excellent performance. CO-free hydrogen was successfully produced from the dehydrogenation of formic acid at a temperature near its boiling point of 110 °C by using a high-performance non-precious metal molybdenum based catalyst synthesized from soybean and earth-abundant molybdenum. The effect of carbonization temperature, raw material ratio on the catalytic activity for formic acid decomposition were investigated in details. The catalyst Soy-Mo (0.1) prepared at a carbonization temperature of 750 °C, the weight ratio of the soybean powder to Mo precursor of 1:0.1 showed the best catalytic activity among those as-synthesized catalysts. Even at a temperature as low as 110 °C, HCOOH conversion reached above 80% with a 100% H2 selectivity and a long-term stability. It indicated that the catalysts derived from those biomass enriched in protein and alkaline metals have excellent performance for catalytic formic acid decomposition. This approach provided a new path for design and development of catalysts with high performance for CO-free hydrogen generation from formic acid in a large-scale industrial process.