Efficient hydrogen production with controlled hydrochloric acid addition using Ni-based catalyst synthesized in ethanol solvent

ABSTRACT

A Ni-based catalyst was synthesized in ethanol solvent by chemical reduction with sodium borohydride(NaBH₄). This catalyst was used to catalyze the hydrolysis reaction of NaBH₄ with hydrochloric acid (HCl) including different concentrations. Surface morphologies and characteristic properties of the Ni-based catalysts synthesized in the ethanol and water solvents were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), surface area measurements, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, respectively. The maximum HGRs of the Ni-based (water) and Ni-based (ethanol) catalysts were 173 and 1054 ml g⁻¹min⁻¹, respectively. In addition, the HGR with 0.25 M HCl addition on the hydrolysis reaction using the Ni-based catalyst prepared in the ethanol solvent was about 1526 ml g⁻¹min^−1. Kinetic studies are performed according to the power law kinetic model. The activation energy (Ea) for the HG from the acidified hydrolysis reaction of NaBH₄ using the Ni-based (ethanol) catalyst was found as 49 kJ mol⁻¹.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethanol
• acid
• nickel catalyst
• sodium borohydride
• hydrogen

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Research Foundation of Siirt University for financial support under Project 2017-SİÜMÜH-26.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Foundation of Siirt University [2017-SİÜMÜH-26.].