Preparation of mesoporous Co–B catalyst via self-assembled triblock copolymer templates

Mesoporous Co–B with worm-like morphology was firstly prepared via reduction of cobalt acetate by potassium borohydride in the presence of triblock copolymer templates. The as-prepared mesoporous Co–B was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N2 adsorption–desorption. During the hydrolysis of KBH4, the mesoporous Co–B exhibited much higher catalytic activity than the regular Co–B. It is attributed to the larger specific surface area (163.77 m2/g) and mesoporous channels. The average H2 generation rate of the mesoporous Co–B was 3523 mL/min g catalyst in 1.3 wt% NaOH + 13 wt.% KBH4 solution at 286 K, which may give a successive H2 supply for a 571 W polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) at 100% H2 utilization. Furthermore, the as-prepared mesoporous Co–B with high specific surface area is expected to find applications in many catalytic hydrogenation reactions.