Development of catalysts for hydrogen generation from hydride compounds

Catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH4 and NH3BH3 has been studied. It was shown that the nature of the support and the active component of the catalyst affect the H2 generation rate. Despite similar sizes of rhodium particles formed on the surface of different supports (γ-Al2O3, TiO2, carbon), their reactivity is different. Rh/TiO2 with low rhodium concentration (1 wt.%) is the most active catalyst both in the hydrolysis of NaBH4 and NH3BH3. The obtained results show that the rhodium chloride interaction with titania determines the reactivity of rhodium particles formed under action of NaBH4 medium. TEM, DRS UV–vis and XPS were used to characterize the catalysts.