Sodium borohydride hydrolysis by using ceramic foam supported bimetallic and trimetallic catalysts

Abstract

In this study, bimetallic and trimetallic catalysts with different contents on ceramic foam support were prepared in an integrated continuous system and performances of catalysts were investigated using a fixed bed reactor. Bimetallic copper-cobalt, lithium-cobalt, and platinum and palladium added bimetallic (trimetallic) catalysts were prepared and characterized by SEM for morphological structure analysis, BET for surface area measurements, and XRD and XPS for crystal structure analysis. In the hydrogen production tests carried out at different flow rates and temperatures, Pd included trimetallic catalysts performed slightly better than Pt added bimetallic catalysts. Although Pd catalysts have low activity than Pt catalysts according to literature, Pd catalyst prepared on ceramic foam had higher activity. In this work, PdLiCo and PdCuCo catalysts demonstrated highest hydrogen production rates (respectively 4.76 ml/min and 4.69 ml/min) as well as highest specific surface area (7.301 m2/g for PdLiCo, 11.821 m2/g for PdCuCo).