Cobalt oxide synthesized using urea precipitation method as catalyst for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

In this study, we report a simple precipitation method for cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanorods synthesis using cobalt chloride and urea in aqueous solution. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The characterization results indicate that urea is an attractive material that can be used as precipitation agent for preparing Co3O4 nanorods by controlling synthesis condition. The catalytic activity of as-prepared material was investigated for hydrolysis reaction of sodium borohydride and it is found that Co3O4 nanorods shows excellent hydrogen production in title reaction. After reaction course, Co3O4 nanorods can be recycled and reused without any apparent loss of activity which makes this process cost effective and hence ecofriendly.