Pt and Ru dispersed on LiCoO2 for hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride solutions

Nano-sized platinum and ruthenium dispersed on the surface LiCoO(2) as catalysts for borohydride hydrolysis are prepared by microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Very uniform Pt and Ru nanoparticles with sizes of <10nm are dispersed on the surface of LiCoO(2). XRD patterns show that the Pt/LiCoO(2) and Ru/LiCoO(2) catalysts only display the characteristic diffraction peaks of a LiCoO(2) crystal structure. Results obtained from XPS analysis reveal that the Pt/LiCoO(2) and Ru/LiCoO(2) catalysts contain mostly Pt(0) and Ru(0), with traces of Pt(IV) and Ru(IV), respectively. The hydrogen generation rates using low noble metal loading catalysts, 1 wt.% Pt/LiCoO(2) and 1 wt.% Ru/LiCoO(2), are very high. The hydrogen generation rate using Ru/LiCoO(2) as a catalyst is slightly higher compared with that of Pt/LiCoO(2). (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.