Co-P-B/Ti foil as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen production from the hydrolysis of NaBH4 solution

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Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) can hydrolyze to generate hydrogen (H2) with the proper catalysts for the fast-growing hydrogen economy. Developing more highly active, cost-effective and stable catalysts is considered to be a promising strategy. Herein, Co-P-B thin film supported on titanium foil (Co-P-B/Ti foil) was fabricated via chemical deposition at room temperature and applied to catalyze H2 production from hydrolysis NaBH4 solution. The catalytic properties of Co-P-B/Ti foil for NaBH4 hydrolysis were studied by adjusting reducing agent concentration, response time, and depositional pH value. The optimized Co-P-B/Ti foil thin film catalyst showed an enhanced catalytic performance. The highest hydrogen generation rate was obtained to be 5529.7 mL·min-1·g-1, and the apparent activation energy was 48.4 kJ·mol-1, which was superior to most of reported catalysts. One reason might be due to the special morphology, increasing the surface area of the catalyst and providing more active sites on the catalyst surface. Another reason might be the mutual effect of the Co, P and B elements. Moreover, the optimized Co-P-B/Ti foil thin film catalyst displayed good recycling ability toward the hydrolysis of NaBH4 solution after 5 cycles.