NiCo2O4 hollow sphere as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen generation by NaBH4 hydrolysis

NiCo2O4 hollow sphere was successfully synthesized and investigated as a catalyst for the alkali-free hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. Structure and morphologies of nanocomposites were studied by XRD, BET surface area analysis, and SEM-EDX. SEM images of NiCo2O4 revealed the presence of hollow spherical nanoparticles of average size 3-5 µm. The prepared catalyst displayed high catalytic activity with H2 generation rate of 1000 mL min−1 g−1 at room temperature. Furthermore, catalyst could be easily recycled and displayed good stability even after 5 recycles making it suitable for commercial application.