Synthesis of nanostructured tungsten carbonitride (WNxCy) by carbothermal ammonia reduction on activated carbon and its application in hydrazine decomposition

• Carbothermal NH3 reduction method was successfully used to obtain WNxCy.
• WNxCy was highly dispersed on the carbon support with particle size less than 2 nm.
• The WNxCy/AC showed stronger adsorption capability than WCx/AC-H.
• The WNxCy/AC exhibited high catalytic performance for hydrazine decomposition.

A carbothermal NH3 reduction method was introduced for the synthesis of nanostructured tungsten carbonitride using support carbon and NH3 as carbon source and nitrogen source, respectively. A series of samples synthesized by this route from WO3/AC were characterized by X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed surface reaction-mass spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and microcalorimetry. The results demonstrated that a nanostructured tungsten carbonitride (WNxCy) was successfully synthesized on activated carbon at 800 °C and the resulting WNxCy was uniformly dispersed on the carbon support with particle size less than 2 nm. The WNxCy/AC prepared by the carbothermal NH3 process has stronger capability for CO adsorption and exhibited better catalytic performance for hydrazine decomposition than the WCx/AC-H catalyst prepared by the carbothermal H2 reduction process. Further bench-scale tests indicated that it could be a promising substitute for the traditional Ir/Al2O3 catalyst in hydrazine decomposition technology.

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