Catalytic decomposition of hydrazine on iron nitride catalysts

A series of iron nitride catalysts were prepared by a temperature-programmed reaction method and evaluated in a microreactor for hydrazine decomposition. The catalytic activity of iron nitride is apparently higher than those of iron oxide catalysts. The noble-metal-like characteristics of the nitrides might be responsible for the high catalytic activity. The iron nitride catalysts prepared at different temperatures have different bulk structures, whereas they have similar specific catalytic activity per m2. The iron nitrides with larger surface areas and smaller particle sizes produced higher catalytic activities and H2 selectivities at high temperatures. The iron nitride catalysts were also compared with the molybdenum nitride and niobium nitride, and the catalytic activities for hydrazine decomposition increase in the order of NbN ≪ FeNx ∼ γ-Mo2N.