Effect of temperature on the corrosion of Cu-Pd hydrogen separation membrane alloys in simulated syngas containing H2S

•The corrosion resistance of four CuPd binary alloys was compared to pure Pd and Cu.•The alloys were exposed to simulated syngas with H2S at 350, 500, 650, and 800 °C.•The corrosion scale was characterized using XRD and SEM/EDS.•The pure metals displayed the most severe degradation.•Sulfides are stable at low temperatures; oxides are stable at high temperatures.

The resistance to sulfidation of hydrogen separation membranes was examined by exposing Pd, Cu, and four Cu–Pd alloys to simulated syngas containing H2S at four different temperatures. The mass change of the samples was determined and the exposed surfaces were characterized by SEM/EDS and XRD. The binary alloys showed much better corrosion resistance than the pure metals at all temperatures. The binary alloys showed a trend reversal, with the high Pd alloys gaining the most mass at the lower temperatures due to sulfidation, while the high Cu alloys gained the most mass at the higher temperatures due to oxidation.