Modification of Electrospun CeO₂ Nanofibers with CuCrO₂ Particles Applied to Hydrogen Harvest from Steam Reforming of Methanol

Hydrogen is the alternative renewable energy source for addressing the energy crisis, global warming, and climate change. Hydrogen is mostly obtained in the industrial process by steam reforming of natural gas. In the present work, CuCrO₂ particles were attached to the surfaces of electrospun CeO₂ nanofibers to form CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers. However, the CuCrO₂ particles did not readily adhere to the surfaces of the CeO₂ nanofibers, so a trace amount of SiO₂ was added to the surfaces to make them hydrophilic. After the SiO₂ modification, the CeO₂ nanofibers were immersed in Cu-Cr-O precursor and annealed in a vacuum atmosphere to form CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers. The CuCrO₂, CeO₂, and CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers were examined by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller studies (BET). The BET surface area of the CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers was 15.06 m²/g. The CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers exhibited hydrogen generation rates of up to 1335.16 mL min^-1 g-cat^-1 at 773 K. Furthermore, the CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers produced more hydrogen at lower temperatures. The hydrogen generation performance of these CeO₂-CuCrO₂ nanofibers could be of great importance in industry and have an economic impact.