Fe doped-CoB catalysts with phosphoric acid-activated montmorillonite as support for efficient hydrogen production via NaBH4 hydrolysis

In this study, montmorillonite (MMT) clay was modified with different acids to be used as support material. The modified MMT clay was used to obtain hydrogen in the hydrolysis reactions of NaBH₄ (NaBH₄-HR) as a support material for the Co–B and Co–Fe–B catalyst. During the activation of MMT clay, the effects of different acids, phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) concentration, and impregnation time with H₃PO₄ were investigated. During the hydrogen generation from the NaBH₄-HR, effects of Co loading, Fe loading, NaBH₄ concentration, temperature and, catalyst durability were investigated. The maximum HGRs for MMT-H₃PO₄–CoB and MMT-H₃PO₄–Co–Fe–B treated with 5 M H₃PO₄ for 7 days were 1869 and 4536 mL/min/g_catalyst, respectively. The activation energies for MMT-H₃PO₄–CoB and MMT-H₃PO₄–Co–Fe–B catalyst samples were 49.5 and 38.90 kJ/mol.