Influence of the using of methanol instead of water in the preparation of Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst for hydrogen production by NaBH 4 hydrolysis and plasma treatment effect on the Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.11.094
• Publication Date: 2015-12-23T06:31:21Z
• Authors: Ömer Şahin; M. Sait İzgi; Erhan Onat; Cafer Saka
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy

Abstract In this work, methanol was used as an alternative to water. Our objective is to study the influence of the using of methanol instead of water in the preparation of Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst. It is also expected to improve the activity of Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst by plasma treatment for the hydrogen generation from hydrolysis of NaBH 4. The prepared catalysts were characterized using BET (N 2 adsorption), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) methods. The Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst prepared in methanol shows maximum hydrogen generation rate, which is about 3.0 times higher than that obtained for Co–B–TiO 2 catalyst prepared in water. The maximum hydrogen generation rates for the Co–B–TiO 2 catalysts prepared in water and methanol were 1017 and 3031 mL/min/g, respectively. In addition, the maximum hydrogen generation rates for the plasma treated Co–B–TiO 2 catalysts prepared in water and methanol were 1320 and 2656 mL/min/g, respectively. The activation energies of n th-order reaction model for the hydrogen production from hydrolysis of NaBH 4 with the plasma treated Co–B/TiO 2 catalyst prepared in methanol and Co–B/TiO 2 catalyst prepared in methanol can be obtained from the slope and intercept of the regression line, being 41.29 and 36.24 kJ/mol, respectively.