CO-tolerant RuNi/TiO2 catalyst for the storage and purification of crude hydrogen

Hydrogen storage by means of catalytic hydrogenation of suitable organic substrates helps to elevate the volumetric density of hydrogen energy. In this regard, utilizing cheaper industrial crude hydrogen to fulfill the goal of hydrogen storage would show economic attraction. However, because CO impurities in crude hydrogen can easily deactivate metal active sites even in trace amounts such a process has not yet been realized. Here, we develop a robust RuNi/TiO2 catalyst that enables the efficient hydrogenation of toluene to methyl-cyclohexane under simulated crude hydrogen feeds with 1000–5000 ppm CO impurity at around 180 °C under atmospheric pressure. We show that the co-localization of Ru and Ni species during reduction facilitated the formation of tightly coupled metallic Ru-Ni clusters. During the catalytic hydrogenation process, due to the distinct bonding properties, Ru and Ni served as the active sites for CO methanation and toluene hydrogenation respectively. Our work provides fresh insight into the effective utilization and purification of crude hydrogen for the future hydrogen economy.