Synthesis of cerium and nickel doped titanium nanofibers for hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

Abstract

A recyclable titanium nanofibers, doped with cerium and nickel doped was successfully synthesized by using sol-gel and electrospinning method for hydrogen generation from alkali free hydrolysis of NaBH4. The resultant nanocomposite was characterized to find out the structural and physical-chemical properties by a series of analytical techniques such as FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope), EDX (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy),N2 adsorption-desorption and BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller), etc. The results revealed that cerium and nickel nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on the surface of the TiO2 nanofibers due to having similar oxidation state and atomic radium of TiO2nanofibers with CeO2 and NiO for the effective immobilization of metal ions. The NiO doped catalyst showed superior catalytic performance towards the hydrolysis reaction of NaBH4 at room temperature. These catalysts have ability to produce 305 mL of H2 within the time of 160 min at room temperature. Additionally, reusability test revealed that the catalyst is active even after five runs of hydrolytic reaction, implying the as-prepared NiO doped TiO2 nanofibers could be considered as a potential candidate catalyst for portable hydrogen fuel system such as PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cells).