Amorphous cobalt-boron/nickel foam as an effective catalyst for hydrogen generation from alkaline sodium borohydride solution

Low cost and catalytically effective transition metal catalysts are of interest for the development of on-board hydrogen generation systems for fuel-cell vehicles. In the present study a modified electroless plating method was developed for the preparation of amorphous Co-B catalyst supported on Ni foam. Compared to the conventional electroless plating method, the newly developed method is more effective and produces Co-B catalyst with much higher catalytic activity. The catalytic activity of the supported Co-B catalyst was found to be highly dependent on the plating times and calcination conditions. Through optimization of these preparation conditions we were able to prepare a catalyst capable of a hydrogen generation rate of 111 (min g)(-1) (catalyst) in a 20 wt.% NaBH4 + 10 wt.% NaOH solution. Preliminary phase analyses and microstructure characterization were performed to understand the effects of preparation conditions on the catalytic activity of the Co-B catalyst. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.