Ultrahigh figure-of-merit for hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride using ternary metal catalysts

We report further increase in the figure-of-merit (FOM) for hydrogen generation from NaBH₄ than reported in an earlier paper [1], where a sub-nanometer layer of metal catalysts are deposited on carbon nanotube paper (CNT paper) that has been functionalized with polymer-derived silicon carbonitride (SiCN) ceramic film. Ternary, Ru-Pd-Pt, instead of the binary Pd-Pt catalyst used earlier, together with a thinner CNT paper is shown to increase the figure-of-merit by up to a factor of six, putting is above any other known catalyst for hydrogen generation from NaBH₄. The catalysts are prepared by first impregnating the functionalized CNT-paper with solutions of the metal salts, followed by reduction in a sodium borohydride solution. The reaction mechanism and the catalyst efficiency are described in terms of an electric charge transfer, whereby the negative charge on the BH₄⁻ ion is exchanged with hydrogen via the electronically conducting SiCN/CNT substrate [1].