Catalysts for nuclear production of hydrogen

Onuki, Kaoru

The research and development on hydrogen production using HTGR at JAEA and studies on catalyst for thermochemical water-splitting IS process performed at various research institutions were described. In the IS process, catalysts are required in thermal decomposition of hydrogen iodide and of sulfur trioxide. So far, it was revealed that Pt shows high catalytic activity in both reactions and some mixed oxides show higher activity than Pt for SO decomposition. Future research field opens in the development of catalysts for HI decomposition in the liquid phase, in the reactive distillation system, etc. As for the SO decomposition catalysts, improvement of stability is an important issue.