Preparation of Sm3H7 nanoparticles and their application in ammonia synthesis

Abstract Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles have been successfully produced by hydrogen plasma-metal reaction (HPMR) method, and then used to synthesize ammonia at 298 K and 1 atm. The morphologies of the Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles before and after reaction were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, and the crystal structures at different steps by X-ray diffraction. Nessler's test was adopted to detect ammonia. It was found that the passivated Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles possess polyhedron shape and smooth surface, with the average size of about 50 nm and the specific surface area 11.2 m 2  g −1 . It was proposed that Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles react with oxygen and nitrogen to form ammonia, but ammonia production is not observable in the case of coarse particles. After ammonia synthesis, the morphology of Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles changes into spongy surface and the mean particle size and specific surface area increase to 100 nm and 28.6 m 2  g −1 , respectively, due to the release of hydrogen. The hydrogen conversion percentage from samarium hydride is estimated to be 1.5%. Without O 2 , Sm 3 H 7 nanoparticles cannot react with N 2 or N 2  + H 2 at 298 K and 1 atm.