The synthesis and characterization of carbon nanotube-supported CuBi catalyst for H2 production from NaBH4 methanolysis

Abstract

In this study, carbon nanotube (CNT) supported bimetallic CuBi catalysts are synthesized by sodium borohydride (SBH, NaBH4) reduction method at different atomic molar ratios. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and X-ray energy dispersion (SEM-EDX), N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analytical techniques have been characterized for the synthesized catalysts. The effects of temperature and catalyst, methanol, and NaBH4 amounts on the initial hydrogen production rate (HGR) are investigated. The initial HGR of CuBi(80:20)/CNT catalyst is calculated as 37545.6 mL/min.gcat at 25 mg catalyst, 1.5% NaBH4, 10 mL methanol (metOH), and 60 °C temperature (optimum parameters). Furthermore, the activation energy (Ea) calculated from the Arrhenius equation is calculated as 34.72 kJ/mol. As a result, CuBi(80:20)/CNT catalyst is promising as a catalyst for NaBH4 methanolysis.