Very efficient dehydrogenation of methanolysis reaction with nitrogen doped Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae carbon as metal-free catalysts

Abstract

In this study, nitrogen (N) doped metal-free catalysts were obtained as a result of nitric acid (HNO3) activation of carbon sample (C-KOH-N), which was obtained based on Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae by KOH activation (C-KOH). These catalysts have been effectively used to produce hydrogen (H-2) from the sodium borohydride (NaBH4) methanolysis reaction. Compared to the C-KOH catalyst, the catalytic activity for C-KOH-N showed a seven-fold improvement. Hydrogen generation rate (HGR) values obtained for the NaBH4 methanolysis reaction for C-KOH and C-KOH-N metal-free catalysts were 3250 and 20,100 mL min(-1) g(-1). The catalysts were characterized using various analytical techniques such as XPS, XRD, SEM, FTIR, BET, and elemental analysis. This work can provide a new alternative strategy to produce specific heteroatom-doped metal-free carbon catalysts for environmentally friendly conversion to produce H-2 efficiently. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.