Membrane Nanofiber-Supported Cobalt-Nickel Nanoparticles as an Effective and Durable Catalyst for H2 Evolution via Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis

Nasser Zouli; Ibrahim M Maafa; Ahmed Abutaleb; Ayman Yousef; M M El-Halwany

doi:10.3390/polym15040814

Membrane Nanofiber-Supported Cobalt-Nickel Nanoparticles as an Effective and Durable Catalyst for H₂ Evolution via Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis

Polymers (Basel). 2023 Feb 6;15(4):814. doi: 10.3390/polym15040814.

Authors

Nasser Zouli¹, Ibrahim M Maafa¹, Ahmed Abutaleb¹, Ayman Yousef^{1

2}, M M El-Halwany³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Mathematics and Physics Engineering, College of Engineering in Matteria, Helwan University, Cairo 11718, Egypt.
³ Department of Mathematics and Physics Engineering, College of Engineering, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura 35516, Egypt.

Abstract

The successful support of bimetallic NiCo alloy nanoparticles (NPs) on poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanofibers (PVDF-HFP NFs) was achieved through electrospinning (ES) and in situ reduction. The synthesis and physicochemical characterization of Ni-Co@PVDF-HFP NFs with a range of bimetallic compositions (Ni_1-xCo_x, x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1) supported on PVDF-HFP NFs was undertaken. In comparison to their counterparts (Ni-PVDF-HFB and Co-PVDF-HFB), the bimetallic hybrid NF membranes demonstrated a significantly increased volume of H₂ generation from sodium borohydride (SBH). The high performance of bimetallic catalysts can be attributed mostly to the synergistic impact of Ni and Co. Among all fabricated catalysts, Ni_0.3Co_0.7@PVDF-HFP produced the highest H₂ production in a short time. The maximum generated H₂volume was 118 mL in 11.5, 9, 6, and 4.5 min at 298, 308, 318, and 328 K, respectively. Kinetic analyses showed that the hydrolysis process proceeded as a quasi-first-order reaction with respect to the amount of catalyst and as a zero-order reaction with respect to the concentration of SBH. Thermodynamics studies were also undertaken and the parameters were calculated as E_a, ΔS, and ΔH = 30.17 kJ/mol, 0.065 kJ/mol, and 27.57 kJ/mol K, respectively. The introduced NFs can be easily separated and reused, which facilitates their industrialization and commercialization applications in hydrogen storage systems.

Keywords: PVDF-HFB nanofibers; bimetallic NiCo; electrospinning; hydrogen; sodium borohydride.

Grants and funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through the project number ISP22-4.