Salicylaldimine-Ni complex supported on Al2O3: Highly efficient catalyst for hydrogen production from hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

Abstract

In this study, the Ni-based complex catalyst containing nickel of 1% supported on Al2O3 is used as for the hydrogen production from NaBH4 hydrolysis. The maximum hydrogen production rate from hydrolysis of NaBH4 with Ni-based complex catalyst supported on Al2O3 containing nickel of 1% is 62535 ml min(-1) g(-1) (complex catalyst containing 1 wt% Ni). The resulting complex catalyst is characterised by XRD, XPS, SEM, FT-IR, UV, and BET surface area analyses. The Arrhenius activation energy is found to be 27.29 kJ mol(-1) for the nickel-based complex catalyst supported on Al2O3. The reusability of the catalyst used in this study has also been investigated. The Ni-based complex catalyst supported on Al2O3 containing nickel of 1% is maintained the activity of 100% after the fifth use, compared to the first catalytic use. The n value for the reaction rate order of NaBH4 is found to be about 0.33. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.