Thermal Decomposition and Combustion Behavior of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) as Sustainable Fuel for Green Propulsion Technologies via Heterogeneous Low-Cost Catalysts

Abstract

Recently, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is largely used as green propellant due to its high performance, high specific impulse and low toxicity. This study investigates the catalytic performance of manganese dioxide (MnO2) supported on silica (SiO2) and binary silica-alumina (SiO2-Al2O3) support careers for the decomposition and combustion behavior of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The primary goal is to evaluate how the addition of alumina to silica influences the catalyst’s properties, particularly its textural characteristics and catalytic activity. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized using nitrogen adsorption (BET─BJH) for surface area and porosity measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) for morphological and elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (DTA─TG) to assess the decomposition kinetics of H2O2. The results show that incorporating alumina with silica significantly enhances the dispersion of MnO2 active phase, leading to an increase in catalytic efficiency and combustion characteristics. The SiO2-Al2O3 support exhibited improved catalytic activity compared to pure silica, facilitating faster and more complete decomposition of H2O2. These findings suggest that optimizing the support composition can significantly improve the performance of catalysts for H2O2 decomposition, with potential applications in space propulsion systems where efficient, eco-friendly propellants are required.