Solution combustion synthesized lithium cobalt oxide as a catalytic precursor for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

Solution combustion synthesis (SCS) has recently been explored as one method to synthesize metal oxides (e.g. Co₃O₄) that can serve as catalytic precursors for the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄). In this work, SCS is used to produce the mixed metal oxide lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂) from a solution of cobalt nitrate, lithium acetate, and glycine. Its subsequent use as an effective catalyst precursor for NaBH₄ hydrolysis is characterized and compared to commercially available LiCoO_2. To remove residual impurities from the SCS material the materials were heated at a rate of 10 °C min^?1 and held for 2 h at temperatures ranging from 500 to 800 °C and subsequently characterized. It was found that the layered phase of LiCoO₂ results at heat treat temperatures above 700 °C. Using a 0.6 wt.% aqueous solution of NaBH₄ at 25 °C and a 1 wt.% catalyst precursor loading, an optimized HGR of 2.09 L min^?1 g_cat^?1 was achieved for the solution combustion synthesized LiCoO₂. In contrast, at the same conditions, a HGR of 0.29 L min^?1 g_cat^?1 was obtained for commercial materials even though the specific surface area was much higher.