Efficient Hydrolysis of Sodium Borohydride by Co‐B Supported on Nitrogen‐doped Carbon
Jianan Xu, Xuexun Du, Qinglian Wei, Yongmin Huang
Abstract
Abstract In this work, dehydrogenation of NaBH 4 in alkaline solutions was catalyzed by amorphous Co‐B catalysts supported on nitrogen doped carbon (N‐C) that is rarely utilized in this field. The physicochemical properties of the as‐prepared catalysts were characterized by X‐ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Raman Spectroscopy and BET (Brunner−Emmet−Teller) measurements. Among all the catalysts made in this paper, Co‐B/N‐C‐700 exhibited best activity, which is likely to be attributed to the possession of more metal Co as active sites. The hydrogen generation rate (HGR) reached 2649 ml H 2 min −1 g −1 cat in 10 wt. % NaOH + 10 wt. % NaBH 4 solution at 30 °C. The value of activation energy is 37.57 kJ mol −1 and compares favorably with values of some previous reports. Besides, influences of NaOH concentration, NaBH 4 concentration, temperature, recycle times and amount of catalyst for the catalytic performance of Co‐B/N‐C‐700 were also investigated to reflect more on hydrolysis of sodium borohydride.