Metal boride-decorated CoNi layered double hydroxides supported on muti-walled carbon nanotubes as efficient hydrolysis catalysts for sodium borohydride

Abstract

Without effective and secure hydrogen production, it is impossible to utilize hydrogen energy on a large scale. Whereas hydrogen emission from NaBH4 hydrolysis with high hydrogen yield is an impressively efficient hydrogen supply method. However, it is affected by sluggish hydrogen production kinetics and low yields, therefore it is required to develop hydrolysis catalysts with good performance under alkaline conditions. In this study, a composite of unique CoNi layered double hydroxide (CoNi-LDH) nanosheets interconnected by muti-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was prepared for the first time, and the surface was modified with metal borides produced by in-situ reduction. Among them, CoNi-LDH nanosheets are created when CoNi-MOF spontaneously derivates in alkaline electrolytes. The successful preparation of CoB-LDH-CNT has been confirmed by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS characterization. The hydrolysis experiments show that it has good catalytic activity with an optimal hydrogen generation rate (HGR) of 5167.72 mL·min−1·g−1 and low activation energy (Ea) of 29.93 kJ·mol−1. After ten cycles of experiments, it still has 75.4% of the initial performance, showing excellent stability, which may be attributed to the fact that MWCNTs can help to reconnect broken nanosheets during the reaction. This interconnected multistage structure offers a new methodology for enhancing the catalytic performance of metal boride and metal hydroxide materials.