Effects of plasma treatment, La content and temperature on the La–Ni–Mo–B catalysts for hydrogen production from NaBH₄ hydrolysis

La–Ni–Mo–B catalysts with 0.15, 0.21 and 0.30-mol La molar ratio are prepared by a mixing method followed by a plasma treatment, characterised and investigated for hydrogen production via sodium borohydride hydrolysis. XRD, SEM, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and FTIR techniques are used for characterising the catalysts. The hydrogen generation rate at 60°C compared to 30°C using La–Ni–Mo–B under the same conditions is significantly different. The effect of temperature, plasma application time and different plasma gases on hydrogen generation from NaBH₄ hydrolysis reaction using La_0.21–Ni–Mo–B catalyst is investigated. It was found that the plasma-treated catalysts exhibited low activation energy for zero order (58 kJ mol⁻¹).