Brazilian Researchers Engineered a High Efficiency Perovskite Catalyst to Transform Ethanol into Hydrogen Without Using Costly Noble Metals

IPEN researchers optimize a perovskite catalyst using nickel exsolution to achieve 100% ethanol conversion into hydrogen without expensive noble metals.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 31, 2026, 3:58 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Optimizing the Ethanol to Hydrogen Pathway

As the global energy sector pivots toward low-carbon solutions, hydrogen has surfaced as a critical fuel for a sustainable economy. In Brazil, the vast existing infrastructure for ethanol production provides a strategic advantage for generating renewable hydrogen through a process known as ethanol steam reforming. However, the efficiency of this conversion has traditionally been hindered by the high cost of noble metal catalysts and the rapid degradation of materials due to carbon buildup. New research led by Fabio Coral Fonseca at the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) has successfully addressed these barriers by fine-tuning the processing of perovskite-type ceramics. This advancement allows for the high-yield production of hydrogen using abundant, low-cost materials.

The Innovative Mechanics of Nickel Exsolution

The core technical breakthrough of the study involves a phenomenon called "exsolution," which differs fundamentally from traditional catalyst preparation. In standard methods, active metals are typically impregnated onto the surface of a support material, where they are prone to shifting and clumping at high temperatures. Instead, the IPEN team incorporated nickel directly into the crystalline structure of the perovskite during its initial synthesis. Under controlled conditions, the nickel emerges from the inside of the crystal to form nanoparticles on the surface. These particles remain strongly anchored to the ceramic substrate, providing extraordinary stability against the sintering and carbon deposits that usually destroy catalyst activity.

Thermal Calibration as a Performance Driver

The researchers discovered that the temperature at which the precursor oxide is calcined is the most decisive factor in the catalyst's eventual success. By testing three different temperatures—650 °C, 800 °C, and 1,200 °C—the team determined that lower temperatures are essential for maintaining a high surface area. When the material was heated to only 650 °C, the ceramic particles remained small, which facilitated a more efficient and uniform emergence of the nickel nanoparticles. Conversely, higher temperatures caused the ceramic grains to fuse together, trapping the nickel inside and drastically reducing the material's catalytic potential. This relatively simple processing adjustment proved to be the ke...