Hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of aluminum promoted by Ni-Li-B catalyst

In this study, the high activity Ni-Li-B catalysts were fabricated through wet chemical reduction method. Their morphological structures, crystallinity, surface area and composition were examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The aluminum-water reaction tests were explored in the range of temperatures from 35-75 degrees C. It was found that water could react with aluminum to generate hydrogen gas. The yield and hydrogen generation rate were significantly increased when all prepared catalysts were added into the reaction. The Ni-Li-B (XLiCl= 0.1 g) catalyst exhibited the highest cumulative hydrogen volume of 201.3 ml with an average hydrogen production rate of 0.50 ml min inverted exclamation 1 at 55 degrees C. This phenomenon could be pointed to the emergence of the micro galvanic cell formed by the Ni-Li-B, Li/Ni-Li-B, Li and Al, which accelerated aluminum to rapidly react with water. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Highly active Ni-Li-B catalysts were fabricated in this study, and aluminum-water reaction tests showed significantly increased yield and hydrogen generation rate when all prepared catalysts were added. The Ni-Li-B (XLiCl= 0.1 g) catalyst exhibited the highest cumulative hydrogen volume and average hydrogen production rate in the experiments.