To ensure that the product streams of different experiments are at the same temperature before they reach the ammonia sensor, the outlet gases were cooled to -10°C. Afterwards the outlet gases were washed with sulfurid acid. 4-(Dimethylamino)-benzaldehyde was added to test for hydrazine in the reaction product. Even after one month of time on stream, no hydrazine was detectable. During this time 2.25 mol of ammonia were passed through the reactor. The detection limit for the hydrazine assay is 0.0005 mg/L, which means formation of <0.4 ppm of hydranzine. Result of catalyst testing and catalyst characterization
Zirconium oxynitrides are nitrogen conducting that have displayed a promising novel ammonia decomposition catalysts that completely avoid the presence of neighboring reduced metal sites. This effect is due to the combination of an appropriate intrinsic reactivity towards nitrogen and high resistance towards reduction which makes the materials promising for the production of hydrogen. In the following section we describe first catalysis studies linking the catalytic behavior in the decomposition of ammonia to the inception of nitrogen mobility using zirconium oxynitrides catalyst. Figure 3 shows an X-ray analysis of the as-prepared material of monoclinic zirconia and the metastable beta-phase zirconium oxynitride. This material was used for catalytic activity testing and is referred to as ZrON in this work. The conversion of ammonia to nitrogen and hydrogen as a function of temperature on a conventional catalyst of Fe3O4, the ZrON catalyst (heating and cooling) and the blank reactor (glass beads) is depicted
