TRIMETALLIC CoMoW ELECTROCATALYSTS FOR HYDROGEN GENERATION

Raminta Šakickaitė1, Zita Sukackienė1, Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė1

1 Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), Saulėtekio ave. 3, LT10257 Vilnius, Lithuania

[email protected]

In 2021, the European Union introduced policies in support of the European Green Deal and the EU Hydrogen Strategy, with the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 [1]. Hydrogen is regarded as a promising clean energy carrier, playing a crucial role in the transition towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy. Among the various hydrogen production methods, the catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH\(_{4}\)) has attracted significant attention due to its high gravimetric hydrogen storage capacity (GHSC) of 10.8 wt.%, the elimination of external electrical energy input, and the ability to be stored in a chemically stable solid state until activation [2]. NaBH\(_{4}\) hydrolysis can generate hydrogen under mild temperature and pressure conditions, making it a viable candidate for portable devices and on-demand hydrogen applications.

In this study, trimetallic Cobalt-Molybdenum-Tungsten (CoMoW) catalysts were developed via the electroless plating method using morpholine borane (C\(_{4}\)H\(_{12}\)BNO) as the reducing agent. The structural and compositional properties of the CoMoW catalysts were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), while their catalytic performance was evaluated in NaBH\(_{4}\) hydrolysis using a 5 wt.% NaBH\(_{4}\) + 0.4 wt.% NaOH solution across a temperature range of 30 – 70 °C.


[1] European Comission. Energy, Climate change, Environment. Hydrogen. Website: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/eus-energy-system/hydrogen_en

[2] Muir, S. S., & Yao, X. (2011). Progress in sodium borohydride as a hydrogen storage material: Development of hydrolysis catalysts and reaction systems. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 36(10), 5983-5997.