Ammonium nitrate-enhanced microwave solution combustion fabrication of CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 nanocatalyst for fuel cell grade hydrogen supply

In this study, CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 nanocatalyst was prepared by combustion synthesis in a microwave oven. Different fuels, sorbitol, propylene glycol, glycerol, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol with 5 wt % added ammonium nitrate used to synthesize samples studying fuel effect. XRD, FESEM, FTIR, EDX and BET analysis were applied to identify physicochemical properties of as-prepared nanocomposites. Furthermore, catalytic performance studies were done on steam methanol reforming as a function of temperature and time to evaluate samples efficiency. All collected data suggested ethylene glycol as the best choice for CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 synthesis via microwave assisted combustion synthesis method.301