Ruthenium and Platinum-Modified Titanium Dioxide Support for NaBH4 Hydrolysis

Highly stable platinum (Pt) and ruthenium (Ru)-based catalysts on titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticle support were prepared. The productivity of hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride (NaBH4) hydrolysis was observed to be as high as 95%. The activation energies for the hydrolysis reaction in the presence of Ru/TiO2 in aqueous and alkaline solutions were 62.00 and 64.65 kJ mol-1, respectively. On the other hand, the activation energy value of the hydrolysis reaction with the Pt/TiO2 catalyst decreased from 60.5 to 53.2 kJ mol-1, and the solution was changed from an aqueous to an alkaline medium. The experimental results have indicated that NaOH concentration (ranging from 0.5 to 2 M) affected the hydrogen generation rate (HGR) differently for both metals on the TiO2 support. Consequently, the HGR of the hydrolysis reaction in the presence of the Ru/TiO2 catalyst decreased with increasing NaOH concentration, whereas the Pt/TiO2 catalyst efficiency increased with increasing NaOH concentration.