Fe doped-CoB catalysts with phosphoric acid-activated montmorillonite as support for efficient hydrogen production via NaBH4 hydrolysis

Abstract

In this study, montmorillonite (MMT) clay was modified with different acids to be used as support material. The modified MMT clay was used to obtain hydrogen in the hydrolysis reactions of NaBH4 (NaBH4-HR) as a support material for the Co–B and Co–Fe–B catalyst. During the activation of MMT clay, the effects of different acids, phosphoric acid (H3PO4) concentration, and impregnation time with H3PO4 were investigated. During the hydrogen generation from the NaBH4-HR, effects of Co loading, Fe loading, NaBH4 concentration, temperature and, catalyst durability were investigated. The maximum HGRs for MMT-H3PO4–CoB and MMT-H3PO4–Co–Fe–B treated with 5 M H3PO4 for 7 days were 1869 and 4536 mL/min/gcatalyst, respectively. The activation energies for MMT-H3PO4–CoB and MMT-H3PO4–Co–Fe–B catalyst samples were 49.5 and 38.90 kJ/mol.