Y-Doped Catalyst Converts Ammonia to Green Hydrogen

Ammonia isn't just for cleaning supplies and plant fertilizers - it can also serve as a precursor to clean hydrogen energy. The decomposition of ammonia (NH₃) is a promising carbon-free pathway that makes hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel that doesn't emit harmful fumes like fossil fuels do. Recent research at Tohoku University is tackling the main issue that makes ammonia decomposition challenging by creating a non-noble metal catalyst that speeds up the reaction to a practical rate.

An inexpensive nickel (Ni) catalyst doped with yttrium (Y) was created to solve these issues. The combined structure (called Ni₁Ce_1-xY_xO_α) is formulated in such a way that it can generate many, stable surface oxygen vacancies, which are vital for controlling the reaction for ammonia decomposition. Additionally, the new catalyst design allowed the research team to precisely adjust the electronic environment of Ni active sites (sites on the catalyst that other molecules can bind to in order to trigger certain chemical reactions). As a result, the catalyst greatly improved the performance of the ammonia decomposition reaction.

The structure and elements distribution. (a) TEM, (b) HRTEM, (c) STEM and elements mapping: (d) Ni and (e) overlay of fresh Ni₁Ce_0.5Y_0.5O_α; (f) TEM, (g) HRTEM, (h) STEM and elements mapping: (i) Ni, (j) Ce, (k) Y, and (l) overlay of post-catalysis Ni₁Ce_0.5Y_0.5O_α. (m) The schematic of the structure formation in Ni₁Ce_0.5Y_0.5O_α after H₂ pretreatment (Dark blue atoms denote Ni, red atoms denote O, yellow atoms denote Ce, and light blue atoms denote Y). ©Zhixian Bao et al.

Non-noble metal catalysts like Ni often suffer from insufficient intrinsic activity and high energy barriers for N₂ desorption. However, the research team was able to create a high−performance, non−noble metal catalyst by carefully incorporating yttrium as a dual-function promoter. This study unveils how Y-doping represents a unique strategy to produce stable and effective catalysts to aid with ammonia decomposition.

Temperature-dependent activities of Ni₁Ce_1-xY_xO_α (GHSV=30000 mL·gcat^-1·h^-1, reduction temperature=400 oC). (b) The H₂ formation rate of Ni₁Ce_1-xY_xO_α at 500 oC based on the weight of Ni on the catalysts. (c) The apparent activation energy of Ni₁Ce_1-xY_xO_α (x=0, 0.5, 1); (d) Comparative analyses of H₂ formation rate across catalysts reported in literature at the different temperatures, and the H₂ formation rate of Ni₁Ce_0.5Y_0.5O_α at the different temperatures positioned closer to the top plot. All the data are also available in the DigCat database: https://www.digcat.org/. Dependence of the H₂ formation rate on the partial pressure of (e) NH₃ and (f) H₂. ©Zhixian Bao et al.

"This study provides a practical pathway toward more sustainable, affordable hydrogen energy systems," says Associate Professor Yizhou Zhang. "The findings support the broader transition to clean energy, contributing to reduced carbon emissions and the future deployment of hydrogen-based vehicles and power generation."

The findings were published in Journal of Catalysis on January 30, 2026.

Potential energy diagrams for (a) the first N-H bond dissociation and (b) N-N coupling of adsorbed N atoms (N* + N*) to form *N-N* in NH₃ decomposition. The optimized structural models for each step of Ni₁Ce₁O_α are shown in yellow boxes. Those for Ni₁Ce_0.5Y_0.5O_α are shown in blue boxes, and those for Ni₁Y₁O_α are shown in red boxes.

Publication Details:
Title: Y-Induced Oxygen Vacancy Engineering and Local Electronic Reconstruction for Enhanced Ammonia Decomposition over Ni₁Ce_1-xY_xO_α
Authors: Zhixian Bao, Huibin Liu, Yizhou Zhang, Zhiheng Wang, Hao Li, Haoquan Hu
Journal: Journal of Catalysis
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2026.116718

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