Non noble metal catalysts on nitrogen – doped carbon supports for the dehydrogenation of formic acid

For the development of a viable hydrogen economy, numerous issues need to be solved, including the storage of hydrogen. One possible safe way is based on storage through chemical bonds thanks to catalysts able to hydrogenate and dehydrogenate organic molecules. Among these molecules, formic acid is a promising circular hydrogen compound able to release 53 g(H2) L-1. The development of a selective catalyst is primordial to avoid the concurrent reaction of dehydration.    Therefore, this work consists in the development of manganese and cobalt manganese on nitrogen doped carbon support catalysts, efficient and selective for the formic acid dehydrogenation. These catalysts are synthesized using the ZIF derived materials pyrolized at high temperature (800 – 950 °C). The influence of the metal nature, its concentration as well as the temperature of pyrolysis are mainly studied. The link between physico chemical properties and catalytic activity are also examined in batch reactor and compared with flow reactor.