Catalytic Performance of Pd-Doped Polymer-Nanoparticle Hybrid Materials for Hydrogen Generation Through Nabh4 Hydrolysis

Abstract

Creating an effective catalyst with low cost and excellent catalytic efficiency in NaBH4 hydrolysis for H2 generation will have a huge impact on the field of renewable energy. For this reason, a polymer-supported catalyst was synthesized and characterized for hydrogen generation by NaBH4 hydrolysis. For catalyst synthesis, firstly the clay (K) was given magnetic properties (Fe3O4@K.) Then, Fe3O4@K is functionalized with tannic acid (pTA@Fe3O4@K). Finally, the palladium (Pd)-doped catalyst was obtained (Pd@pTA@Fe3O4@K). The study aimed to use a time-efficient Central Composite Design (CCD) from response surface methodology (RSM) to correlate relationships between the hydrogen generation rate (HGR) and the operating parameters. Under optimum conditions (NaBH4 amount: 3.6 wt%, NaOH amount:2.77 wt%, catalyst amount: 3.29 mg/mL, and Pd loading amount:6.05 wt%), the maximum HGR value was calculated as 5891.34 mL H2/(gcat. min.). Thus, the excellently performing Pd@pTA@Fe3O4@K composite catalyst has significant potential for use in NaBH4 hydrolysis.