Investigating the efficiency of NiFe catalysts in potassium borohydride hydrolysis for hydrogen production
Fuel, cilt.403, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 403
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.fuel.2025.136099
- Dergi Adı: Fuel
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Hydrogen production, Hydrolysis, KBH4, NiFe
- Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Hydrogen production through the hydrolysis of potassium borohydride (KBH4) is an attractive method due to its high hydrogen yield potential. This study examines the catalytic performance of a thin film nickel–iron (NiFe) catalyst in KBH4 hydrolysis, focusing on optimizing key reaction parameters such as temperature, catalyst amount, NaOH concentration, and HCl volume. The structural and chemical properties of the NiFe catalyst were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM)/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicate that NiFe catalysts exhibit high hydrogen production efficiency, achieving up to a 99 % yield under conditions with 1 % NaOH, 10 % KBH4, 1.40 g catalyst, and 2.5 mL of 0.5 M HCl at 50 °C. Complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided atomistic insight into the reaction mechanism, confirming the distinct roles of Fe and Ni in adsorption and electronic modulation, respectively. These combined findings demonstrate that the optimized thin film NiFe catalyst is a cost-effective and highly efficient material for hydrogen production from KBH4, with broader implications for advanced chemical hydrogen storage technologies.