Advanced Boric Acid-Based Catalysts for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Generation Via Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis

Abstract

This study synthesized environmentally friendly, boric acid-based, metal-free polymeric catalysts via redox polymerization in an emulsion medium without a surfactant. Their hydrogen (H2) production performance from sodium borohydride (NaBH4) hydrolysis was evaluated for the first time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the structural and physicochemical properties of the p(BoA) polymeric catalysts. FT-IR analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of cross-linked p(BoA) particles through peak shifts, the appearance of new spectra, and intensity changes. SEM images showed that p(BoA) particles possess irregular spherical morphologies with surfaces comprising porous and fractured layers. The effects of various parameters—including reaction temperature, catalyst quantity, and NaBH4 concentration on H₂ generation were systematically investigated. The NaBH4 hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by the boric acid-based particles was found to follow first-order kinetics. The highest hydrogen production rate (HGR) was observed at 50°C, with rates calculated for different quantities of p(BoA) particles: 24.27 mL H2 gcatalys-1 dak-1 for 0.1g, 15.15 mL H2 gcatalys-1 dak-1 for 0.3g, and 16.67 mL H2 gcatalys-1 dak-1 for 0.5g. These findings suggest that boric acid-based, metal-free polymeric catalysts offer significant potential for sustainable hydrogen production.