Trimetallic NiFePd nanoalloy catalysed hydrogen generation from alkaline hydrous hydrazine and sodium borohydride at room temperature

Abstract

A simple, surfactant-assisted, room temperature synthetic route based on the coreduction of Ni, Fe and Pd salts by sodium borohydride has been developed for the synthesis of trimetallic NiFePd nanocatalysts. The catalysts were characterised by XRD, FESEM, EDX, TEM, HRTEM, SAED and XPS, and their catalytic activity and selectivity towards hydrogen generation from hydrous hydrazine and sodium borohydride were studied at room temperature. The support-free nanoparticles possessed good dispersion and a small particle size, revealing excellent catalytic performance for the complete decomposition of hydrous hydrazine and hydrolysis of sodium borohydride at room temperature. The recycle test results of the nanocatalyst showed no significant decrease in catalytic activity over five cycles. It is believed that the trimetallic NiFePd catalyst will provide a process for preparing hydrogen gas in situ, i.e. instantly upon the demand of a selected, hydrogen consuming device or process. The results presented here with a high performance catalyst system with a low noble metal content offer a new prospect for an on-board hydrogen production system.