Nickel/nickel oxide nanocomposite particles dispersed on carbon quantum dot from caffeine for hydrogen release by sodium borohydride hydrolysis: Performance and mechanism

The political and economic problems caused by the limited use of fossil fuels are another important reason that leads people to alternative energy sources. Compared to other energy sources, hydrogen has the potential to be the energy source of the future. In this study, the preparation of Ni/NiO doped caffeine-based carbon dot(CCQD) for efficient hydrogen (H₂) production from the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) is included the fabrication of nanoscale caffeine-based carbon quantum dot, the preparation of the CCQD-supported Ni/NiO catalyst as boron-free and the preparation of the CCQD-supported Ni/NiO catalyst by hydrothermal treatment in ethanol solvent (NiO@ CCQD-HT (EtOH)). The HGR values obtained with NiO@CCQD-HT (EtOH) was 16,819 ml min⁻¹g_cat⁻¹. Moreover, the turnover frequency (TOF) value for the NiO@CCQD-HT (EtOH) was found as 2315 h⁻¹. The activation energy (Ea) for the NiO@CCQD-HT (EtOH) catalyst was 39.48 kJmol⁻¹.