Hydrogen generation from methanolysis of sodium borohydride over Co/Al2O3 catalyst

Co/Al2O3 catalyst is prepared with an impregnation-chemical reduction method and used to catalyze the methanolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) for hydrogen generation. At solution temperature of 0 °C, the methanolysis reaction can be effectively accelerated using Co/Al2O3 catalyst and provide a desirable hydrogen generation rate, which makes it suitable for applications under the circumstance of low environmental temperature. The byproduct of methanolysis reaction is analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The characterization results indicate that methanol can be easily recovered after methanolysis reaction by hydrolysis of the methanolysis byproduct, NaB(OCH3)4. The catalytic activity of Co/Al2O3 towards NaBH4 methanolysis can be further improved by appropriate calcination treatment. The catalytic methanolysis kinetics and catalyst reusability are also studied over the Co/Al2O3 catalyst calcined at the optimized temperature.