Controllable hydrogen production from NaBH4 hydrolysis promoted by acetic acid

Numerous catalysts have been widely investigated for accelerating hydrogen production from NaBH 4 hydrolysis. However, these catalysts are usually complicated in structures, costly in fabrication, and hazardous for environment. In this work, cheap and environment-friendly acetic acid, CH 3 COOH, is employed to promote NaBH 4 hydrolysis to produce hydrogen in a considerable rate. The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of suitable amount of CH 3 COOH into NaBH 4 solutions stabilized with NaOH could dramatically accelerate the hydrolysis reaction . Additionally, the start/stop of NaBH 4 hydrolysis could be controlled by adding acid or base into the solution to realize “go-as-you-please” on-site hydrogen production.