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Catalysts
Volume 15
Issue 7
10.3390/catal15070631
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Article

Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production: Unveiling the Role of Liquid Metals in Methane Pyrolysis over Iron Catalysts Supported on Titanium Dioxide and Alumina

by
Hamid Ahmed
1,
Amal BaQais
2,
Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed Ali
3,
Ahmed I. Osman
4,
Anis H. Fakeeha
1,
Ahmed E. Abasaeed
1,
Ahmed A. Ibrahim
1,*,
Syed Farooq Adil
5,
Tahani Saad Algarni
5 and
Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh
1
1
Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
2
2 Department of chemistry, College of science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
3
Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11432, Saudi Arabia
4
School of Engineering, Technology, and Design, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury CT1 1QU, UK
5
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Catalysts 2025, 15(7), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15070631 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 14 May 2025 / Revised: 19 June 2025 / Accepted: 24 June 2025 / Published: 27 June 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Catalytic methane decomposition offers an attractive and sustainable pathway for producing COx-free hydrogen and valuable carbon nanotubes. This work investigates the innovative use of liquid metals, particularly gallium and indium, as promoters for iron catalysts based on a titanium dioxide and alumina composite to improve this process even more. In a fixed-bed reactor operating at 800 °C and atmospheric pressure, all catalyst activities for methane decomposition were thoroughly assessed while keeping the gas hourly space velocity at 6 L/g hr. Surface area and porosity, H2-temperature programmed reduction/oxidation, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetry analysis were utilized to investigate the physicochemical properties of the catalyst. The result showed that iron supported on a titanium-alumina catalyst exhibited higher activity, stability, and reproducibility with a methane conversion of 90% and hydrogen production of 81% after three cycles, with 240 min for each cycle and stability for 480 min. In contrast, the liquid metal-promoted catalysts improved the metal-support interaction and textural properties, such as surface area, pore volume, and particle dispersion of the catalysts. Still, the catalytic efficiency significantly improved. However, the gallium-promoted catalyst displayed excellent reusability. The characterization of the spent catalyst proved that both the iron supported on a titanium-alumina and its gallium-promoted derivative produced graphitic carbon; on the contrary, the indium-promoted catalyst produced amorphous carbon. These results demonstrate how liquid metal promoters can be used to adjust the characteristics of catalysts, providing opportunities for improved reusability and regulated production of carbon byproducts during methane decomposition.
Keywords: hydrogen production; methane conversion; iron catalyst; hydrothermal synthesis; impact of liquid metal hydrogen production; methane conversion; iron catalyst; hydrothermal synthesis; impact of liquid metal

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ahmed, H.; BaQais, A.; Ali, F.A.A.; Osman, A.I.; Fakeeha, A.H.; Abasaeed, A.E.; Ibrahim, A.A.; Adil, S.F.; Algarni, T.S.; Al-Fatesh, A.S. Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production: Unveiling the Role of Liquid Metals in Methane Pyrolysis over Iron Catalysts Supported on Titanium Dioxide and Alumina. Catalysts 2025, 15, 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15070631

AMA Style

Ahmed H, BaQais A, Ali FAA, Osman AI, Fakeeha AH, Abasaeed AE, Ibrahim AA, Adil SF, Algarni TS, Al-Fatesh AS. Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production: Unveiling the Role of Liquid Metals in Methane Pyrolysis over Iron Catalysts Supported on Titanium Dioxide and Alumina. Catalysts. 2025; 15(7):631. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15070631

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ahmed, Hamid, Amal BaQais, Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed Ali, Ahmed I. Osman, Anis H. Fakeeha, Ahmed E. Abasaeed, Ahmed A. Ibrahim, Syed Farooq Adil, Tahani Saad Algarni, and Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh. 2025. "Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production: Unveiling the Role of Liquid Metals in Methane Pyrolysis over Iron Catalysts Supported on Titanium Dioxide and Alumina" Catalysts 15, no. 7: 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15070631

APA Style

Ahmed, H., BaQais, A., Ali, F. A. A., Osman, A. I., Fakeeha, A. H., Abasaeed, A. E., Ibrahim, A. A., Adil, S. F., Algarni, T. S., & Al-Fatesh, A. S. (2025). Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production: Unveiling the Role of Liquid Metals in Methane Pyrolysis over Iron Catalysts Supported on Titanium Dioxide and Alumina. Catalysts, 15(7), 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15070631

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