PtRu-LiCoO2—an efficient catalyst for hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride solutions

Hydrogen generation by the hydrolysis of aqueous sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solutions is studied using IRA-400 anion resin dispersed Pt, Ru catalysts and lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) supported Pt, Ru and PtRu catalysts. The performance of the LiCoO2 supported catalysts is better than that of ion-exchange resin dispersed catalysts. There is a marked concentration dependence on the performance of the LiCoO2 supported catalysts and the hydrogen generation rate decreases if the borohydride concentration is increased beyond 10 wt.%. The efficiency of PtRu-LiCoO2 is almost double that of either Ru-LiCoO2 or Pt-LiCoO2 for NaBH4 concentrations up to 10 wt.%.