Polypyrrole supported Co-W-B nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for improved hydrogen generation from hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

Effective and reusable catalysts with high performance are essentially necessary for NaBH4 based on-demand hydrogen generators to the widespread use for energy conversion in fuel cell power systems. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of surfactant-directed polypyrrolesupported Co-W-B nanoparticles as a robust catalyst for efficient hydrolysis of NaBH4 reaction. This non-noble metal catalyst provides much higher catalytic activity than a conventional cobalt boride catalyst. By incorporating tungsten to catalyst composition and tuning molar ratio of W/(Co + W), about a four-fold higher hydrogen generation rate was attained compared to bare Co-B. Among the all catalysts tested, Co-W-B/PPy with 7.5% W possessed the remarkable catalytic performance of 9.92 L min(-1) g(-1) and high stability over five cycles with the apparent activation energy of 49.18 kJ mol(-1). (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.