Catalytic activity of Ni₃S₂ and effects of reactor wall in hydrogen production from water with hydrogen sulphide as a reducer under hydrothermal conditions

Catalytic activity of Ni₃S₂ and the effects of reactor wall in the hydrogen production from water were investigated under hydrothermal conditions using hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) as a reductant. It was found that Ni₃S₂ catalysed the hydrogen production from water and may act as a semi-conductor catalyst. In the case of addition of Ni₃S₂, the time required to achieve the maximum hydrogen yield significantly decreased and the maximum hydrogen yield increased. These results suggest that the Ni₃S₂ formed as a corrosion product of the reactor wall when using the Hastelloy C-276 lined reactor should play a catalytic role in the hydrogen production. These results could facilitate studies for the synthesis of highly active catalysts for the production of hydrogen under mild conditions.