Dysprosium-driven electronic regulation in Fe/CoB catalysts: Efficient hydrogen generation from NaBH4 hydrolysis

Rare-earth metal-based materials have rapidly gained attention as leading candidates for high-performance hydrogen storage, offering a promising direction for the advancement of clean energy technologies. In this study, a novel composite catalyst (Fe–Dy 2 O 3 /CoB) was constructed by introducing the rare-earth metals dysprosium (Dy), which significantly enhanced the catalytic performance of sodium borohydride hydrolysis. The experimental findings revealed that the Fe–Dy 2 O 3 /CoB catalyst demonstrated outstanding hydrogen generation efficiency (5512.4 mL min −1  g −1 ), accompanied by a notably low apparent activation energy (47.81 kJ mol −1 ) at 25 °C. Our results reveal that the incorporation of dysprosium not only optimized the electronic structure of the catalyst but also significantly improved the adsorption and activation of reactants. Additionally, the inclusion of iron imparted magnetic properties to the catalyst, facilitating easy separation and recycling via an external magnetic field. Notably, the hydrogen generated via this catalytic system is sufficient to power fuel cell-driven small vehicles, fully showcasing its practical application capability in on-demand hydrogen supply scenarios. This work highlights the untapped potential of rare-earth elements in tailoring the electronic structure of multi-component catalysts. It establishes a generalizable strategy for designing next-generation hydrogen generation systems based on NaBH 4 hydrolysis.