Carbon derived from rice: application as a support for platinum catalysts for hydrogen generation by HI decomposition

Carbon as a catalyst and catalyst support have wide range of applications. Noble metal like platinum when supported on carbon becomes a popular catalyst, where structure and properties of the carbon also play an important role in the overall performance of the catalyst. In this article, we report the preparation of carbon from rice and its use as a support for platinum catalyst. Two different catalysts were prepared using this carbon support. These catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalysts were used for hydrogen iodide (HI) decomposition reaction of the sulphur–iodine cycle, one of the most efficient thermochemical cycles for hydrogen production from water. The catalysts were also evaluated for the stability in the reaction conditions.