3D porous Ni–Zn catalyst for catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride and ammonia borane

Abstract

As promising hydrogen carriers, sodium borohydride (SB) and ammonia borane (AB) can controllably release pure hydrogen by means of catalytic hydrolysis at mild condition. In this work, we introduced a novel and facile method for transformation of commercial nickel foam (NF) to highly active 3D porous Ni–Zn catalyst. The method consisted of three steps including electroplating zinc on NF, alloying treatment and chemical etching. Catalyst microstructure and component were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hydrogen generation measurement indicates that the prepared Ni–Zn catalyst is highly efficient for catalytic hydrolysis of SB and AB to generate hydrogen. Moreover, recycling performance of the catalyst was also investigated.