Hydrogen (H2) is a zero-carbon and high-energy-density
fuel promising to replace fossil fuels for power generation and clean
energy. However, hydrogen still faces enormous challenges in terms
of production, transportation, and storage. Ammonia (NH3) is a promising H2 (17.7 wt %) carrier that easily overcomes
the difficulties associated with H2 storage and transport.
However, for the NH3 decomposition hydrogen production
reaction, the biggest challenge at present is to achieve complete
conversion of ammonia under a relatively high space velocity (about
30,000 mL·gcat
–1·h–1) at low-temperature conditions (about 350 °C) with reasonable
price catalysts. At present, the most efficient ammonia decomposition
catalyst is a Ru-based catalyst doped with K, Ba, and Cs and supported
on various carbon supports and metal oxides. Otherwise, the catalysts
that exhibited the most outstanding activity among non-noble metal
catalysts are nickel-based, and because of their low cost, nickel
is regarded as a reasonable alternative candidate material for NH3 decomposition. Advances in the study of reaction kinetics
of ammonia decomposition reactions and whether the rate-determining
step of the ammonia decomposition reaction is the cleavage of the
first N–H bond or the desorption of nitrogen gas are also discussed.
This review provides a comprehensive consideration of the recent development
of Ru-based and Ni-based catalysts and proposed mechanisms of ammonia
decomposition on them are examined. The effects of preparation methods,
support, and promoters on catalyst activity were studied and theoretical
bases for the design of future catalysts are presented. At last, a
brief introduction to catalytic membrane reactor technology in recent
years is given. This review can serve as a comprehensive work for
designing novel catalysts.