Hydrogen production through the cooperation of a catalyst synthesized in ethanol medium and the effect of the plasma

ABSTRACT

In the present study, nanostructured Ni-B catalysts were successfully prepared in ethanol medium using the chemical reduction method for hydrogen production from the catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄). Ni-B nanostructures were characterized by several analysis methods including XRD, SEM/EDS, FT-IR and BET. The effects of factors such as solution temperature, NaBH₄ loadings, catalyst amount and NaOH concentration on the performance of these catalysts in the production of hydrogen from alkaline NaBH₄ solutions were investigated in detail. In addition, the Ni-B catalyst prepared in ethanol medium and subjected to plasma for the hydrogen production from the catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄ was investigated. The Ni-B catalyst prepared in ethanol medium showed maximum hydrogen production rate (1000 mL min⁻¹gcatalyst⁻¹) which was approximately 2 times higher than the rate obtained from the Ni-B catalyst prepared in water (400 mL min⁻¹gcatalyst⁻¹) and acethone (550 mL min⁻¹gcatalyst⁻¹). The Ni-B nanoparticles showed the best catalytic activity at 333 K with a maximum hydrogen production rate of 7134 mL min⁻¹gcatalyst⁻¹ and activation energy of 46.83 kJmol⁻¹ for the NaBH₄ hydrolysis reaction in the Ni-B catalysts prepared in ethanol and subjected to plasma. As the Ni-B catalyst is inexpensive and easy to prepare, it is feasible to use this catalyst in the construction of practical fuel cells for portable and in situ applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Hydrogen production
• plasma
• sodium borohydride
• hydrolysis
• ethanol

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Notes on contributors

Mehmet Sait Izgi

Mehmet Sait Izgi He received his master's degree from Harran University in 2004 and his doctorate degree from Kafkas University in 2010. Between 2010 and 2016, he worked as a faculty member at Siirt University. He has been working at Siirt University since 2016 and she is also the dean of the university. He has been a reviewer for many journals such as the Journal of Hydrogen Energy. He is the Field Editor of the journal Science of Bitlis Eren University and is a member of the Hydrogen Technologies Association. He has worked in many fields such as catalyst, crystallization, fuel cell, biodiesel and many other projects

Erhan Onat

Erhan Onat completed his master's degree at Bitlis Eren University in 2014-2016. In 2019, he started to study for a PhD at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and depaerment of Chemical Engineering. His research interests include catalyst production.

Hilal Çelik Kazici

Hilal Çelik Kazici has received her PhD in University of Ankara during the period of 2007-2014. Currently, she is working as Assist. Prof.Dr in Van Yuzuncu Yil University. Her research has included Catalysts-electrocatalysts, Sensors and Hydrogen production technologies. She is serving as an Reviewers for journals like Talanta, Journal of Alloys and Compounds. She is a member of Turkish Chamber of Chemical Engineers.

Ömer Şahin

Ömer Şahin received his master's degree in 1994 and doctorate degree in 1999 from Istanbul Technical University. Between 1999 and 2009, he worked as a faculty member at Harran University. Between 2009 and 2017, he was the dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Siirt University. Since 2017, he has been working as vice rector at the same university. He has many publications and projects in the field of crystallization, catalyst production, solar cells, energy.