Hydrogen generation by reaction of Al–M (M = Fe,Co,Ni) with water

•The addition of Fe, Co and Ni to Al improves the production of hydrogen and shorts the induction time.•After the initial induced reaction, Al rapidly reacts with water even at 25 °C.•The corrosion potential decreased and the corrosion current increased for the mixture.•The formed Al(OH)n hydrate accelerates the alumina removal and improves Al–H2O reaction.

The addition of Fe, Co and Ni to Al significantly improves the production of hydrogen in Al–H2O reaction. The total mass of Fe and Ni is less than the mass of Co. However, the hydrogen evolution induced by Co reaches ∼1000 ml g−1 and the induction time shortens to 1.4 h at 35 °C. After the initial induced reaction, Al rapidly reacts with water even at 25 °C and the yield reached 90.0%. The additional Fe, Co and Ni combined with Al forms the galvanic cell and induce Al–H2O reaction. The Al(OH)n hydrate formed in the reaction accelerates the removal of alumina and the reaction rate of Al–H2O reaction, along with a decrease in the corrosion potential and an increase in the corrosion current. Beside that, both the pH and released heat in the local domain favor the Al–H2O reaction.