Very efficient dehydrogenation of methanolysis reaction with nitrogen doped Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae carbon as metal-free catalysts

Abstract

In this study, nitrogen (N) doped metal-free catalysts were obtained as a result of nitric acid (HNO3) activation of carbon sample (C–KOH–N), which was obtained based on Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae by KOH activation (C–KOH). These catalysts have been effectively used to produce hydrogen (H2) from the sodium borohydride (NaBH4) methanolysis reaction. Compared to the C–KOH catalyst, the catalytic activity for C–KOH–N showed a seven-fold improvement. Hydrogen generation rate (HGR) values obtained for the NaBH4 methanolysis reaction for C–KOH and C–KOH–N metal-free catalysts were 3250 and 20,100 mL min−1 g−1. The catalysts were characterized using various analytical techniques such as XPS, XRD, SEM, FTIR, BET, and elemental analysis. This work can provide a new alternative strategy to produce specific heteroatom-doped metal-free carbon catalysts for environmentally friendly conversion to produce H2 efficiently.