Oxalic Acid Promoted Hydrolysis of Sodium Borohydride for Transition Metal Free Hydrogen Generation

Abstract

We reported an inexpensive and high-efficiency hydrogen generation method from NaBH₄ hydrolysis promoted by oxalic acid. NaBH₄ and H₂C₂O₄ were premixed and hydrogen generation was initiated by adding water into the solid mixture. H₂C₂O₄ was selected as the acid promotor due to its solid state and low mass per proton. The effect of reactant ratio on the hydrogen yield and hydrogen storage density was investigated. With optimized reactant ratio, high gravimetric hydrogen storage up to 4.4wt% based on all the reactants can be achieved with excellent hydrogen generation kinetics.

Keywords

hydrogen generation / sodium borohydride / oxalic acid / hydrolysis

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