High activity AlOOH catalyzed Al hydrolysis for hydrogen generation

Previous works indicated that aluminum hydroxide could act as catalyst to assist the hydrolysis reaction of Al, but the catalytic activity of commercial aluminum hydroxide was very poor. In the present research, an AlOOH catalyst with high activity and excellent stability is synthesized using hydrothermal method, and the catalytic effect of this AlOOH catalyst on Al hydrolysis is researched systematically. The results show that AlOOH not only significantly shortens the induction time but also accelerates Al hydrolysis, and the catalytic activity of AlOOH depends on its preparation conditions. The SEM and XRD analyses reveal that the hydrothermal temperature and hydrothermal time have great influence on the crystallinity and grain size of AlOOH, which in turn impact the catalytic activity of AlOOH. The AlOOH catalyst prepared at the hydrothermal temperature of 165 °C for 24 h has the best activity, and it shortens the induction time from 5.00 h to 0.58 h. This work provides a novel and feasible way to generate hydrogen for portable devices.