Investigation of the kinetic properties of Co-La-Ce-B catalyst for sodium borohydride solutions to generate hydrogen for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Abstract

We report the synthesis of Ce supported-Co-La-B (Co-La-Ce-B) catalyst and its catalytic activity. The synthesized Co-La-Ce-B catalyst for the first time is used to obtain the maximum hydrogen production rate from hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The synthesized Co-La-Ce-B catalyst indicates an effective performance in the hydrogen production from the hydrolysis of NaBH4. It is found that synthesized Co-La-Ce-B catalyst has a hydrogen production rate of 9,764.00 mL/ min g and 19.63 kJ mol(-1). Moreover, hydrogen produced from NaBH4 hydrolysis in the presence of a Co-La-Ce-B catalyst was used in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell application. The open-circuit voltage of the single PEM fuel cell was measured at 0.87 V, which is higher than that of typical fuel cells. The efficiency value according to the power is 54%, while the efficiency value according to the ideal voltage is 71%.