Bimetallic Co–Ni based complex catalyst for hydrogen production by catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride with an alternative approach

Hydrogen is a clean energy carrier and is expected to be one of the main energy sources in the 21st century. The basic aim of this study is to develop a feasible new catalyst system for the hydrogen generation by catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄. The method is an alternative approach for the hydrogen production with metal catalysts. Ni–Co bimetallic complex catalysts with different Co–Ni contents were derived from 4-4′-methylene bis (2,6-diethyl)aniline-3,5-di-tert-butylsalisilaldimin ligand and their catalytic performances were investigated with hydrogen generation by catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄. Experimental results showed that the Co–Ni contained catalysts exhibited much higher activity than the monometallic complex catalyst. The optimal mixture percentage of Co–Ni complex catalyst was 80:20. It was found that a combination of 2.5 wt% NaBH₄ solution concentration and 5 wt% NaOH yields the highest performance for the hydrogen generation. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR and SEM techniques.