Hydrogen generation from the reaction of Al and H2O using a synthesized Al(OH)3 nanoparticle catalyst: the role of urea

Abstract

This research investigated the high catalytic activity of different crystalline phases of Al(OH)₃ nano-particles (NPs) for hydrogen generation from the Al/water reaction. Al(OH)₃ NPs were synthesised using a basic precipitation technique at 3 °C. The use of urea makes the synthesized Al(OH)₃catalyst a nitrogen-containing material. Remarkably, the introduction of urea can considerably accelerate hydrogen production. Based on the characterization of the Al(OH)₃ NPs performed using powder X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), the synthesized Al(OH)₃ NPs are bayerite, gibbsite and mixed phase (α, β-phase, and α–β phase). The results show that nitrogen-containing Al(OH)₃ NPs have a high catalytic performance for the Al–H₂O reaction for hydrogen generation. The Al : Al(OH)₃ : H₂O (1 : 3 : 10) reaction system produces approximately 1360 ml g⁻¹ (which is 100%) of hydrogen within 30 seconds.