Effects of plasma treatment, La content and temperature on the La-Ni-Mo-B catalysts for hydrogen production from NaBH4 hydrolysis

Abstract

La-Ni-Mo-B catalysts with 0.15, 0.21 and 0.30-mol La molar ratio are prepared by a mixing method followed by a plasma treatment, characterised and investigated for hydrogen production via sodium borohydride hydrolysis. XRD, SEM, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and FTIR techniques are used for characterising the catalysts. The hydrogen generation rate at 60 degrees C compared to 30 degrees C using La-Ni-Mo-B under the same conditions is significantly different. The effect of temperature, plasma application time and different plasma gases on hydrogen generation from NaBH4 hydrolysis reaction using La-0.21-Ni-Mo-B catalyst is investigated. It was found that the plasma-treated catalysts exhibited low activation energy for zero order (58 kJ mol(-1)).