Amorphous cobalt–boron/nickel foam as an effective catalyst for hydrogen generation from alkaline sodium borohydride solution

Low cost and catalytically effective transition metal catalysts are of interest for the development of on-board hydrogen generation systems for fuel-cell vehicles. In the present study a modified electroless plating method was developed for the preparation of amorphous Co–B catalyst supported on Ni foam. Compared to the conventional electroless plating method, the newly developed method is more effective and produces Co–B catalyst with much higher catalytic activity. The catalytic activity of the supported Co–B catalyst was found to be highly dependent on the plating times and calcination conditions. Through optimization of these preparation conditions we were able to prepare a catalyst capable of a hydrogen generation rate of 11 l (min g)−1 (catalyst) in a 20 wt.% NaBH4 + 10 wt.% NaOH solution. Preliminary phase analyses and microstructure characterization were performed to understand the effects of preparation conditions on the catalytic activity of the Co–B catalyst.