Catalytic properties of nanostructured hydrogen storage nickel particles with cerium shell structure

In this paper we examine a new kind of nanostructured nickel particle with cerium shell structure prepared by the hydrogen arc plasma method. The microstructural analysis of nano-Ni particles showed that the shell layer consisted of CeNi alloys and cerium oxide. The hydrogen storage property of the nanoparticles was investigated by mass spectroscopy. The results showed that the quantity of hydrogen released gradually increased with increasing temperature up to a maximum of 400 °C, then gradually decreased at temperatures above 400 °C. The catalytic activity of nanoparticles in the gas phase hydrogenation of benzene was related to their hydrogen storage properties and it reached the maximum value when the maximum amount of bulk H was released. By comparing the catalytic activity of nano-Ni particles with and without Ce shell structure, the higher activity of nano-Ni with Ce shell was attributed to the property of hydrogen storage and the synergistic effect of Ce and Ni in the shell structure, which was also illustrated by the result of gas phase benzene hydrogenation over supported nano-NiCe particles.