Preparation and application of sodium borohydride composites for portable hydrogen production

Novel composites consisting of cobalt–boron (CoB) catalyst and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) implantation in polymers (polyethylene glycol (PEG) or sodium alginate) were prepared for portable hydrogen production. The CoB catalyst was synthesized by the reduction of cobalt salt in NaBH4 solution followed by heat treatment in nitrogen atmosphere. The catalyst was embedded in PEG gel or alginate beads and NaBH4 was directly added in PEG–dimethylformamide (DMF) gel and adsorbed in alginate beads. It is noted that the composites prepared are stable in dry air and can be easily used for hydrogen production. A rate of hydrogen production of 750 ml min−1 g−1 was reached when simply putting the composites into pure water. The humidified pure hydrogen can be used conveniently for fuel cells.