Effect of oxygen-containing functional groups in metal-free carbon catalysts on the decomposition of methane

Abstract

Unlike conventional hydrogen production methods, catalytic methane decomposition (CMD) produces hydrogen gas without the production of greenhouse gases. Carbonaceous materials including activated carbon (AC), mesoporous carbon (MC) and carbon black (CB) were investigated as metal-free catalysts for CMD. CB showed greater stability over the course of the reaction than AC and MC. A strong relationship between the number and type of oxygen-containing functional groups and methane conversion was found. In this work, the effect of the type of functional group and the origin of activity as well as the deactivation mechanism are discussed.