Hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride hydrolysis using a heterogeneous biocatalyst prepared with Zabrus tenebrionides Goeze 1777 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) chitin

Co-B/Chi, which is made up of highly distributed Co-B particles, was synthesized by impregnation and chemical reduction methods. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller adsorption and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were used to describe the morphology and microstructure of Co-B/Chi. The synthesized catalyst showed high catalytic activity in the hydrolysis reaction of NaBH4. The unsupported Co-B samples were compared with the chitin-supported Co-B catalyst, and the result showed that higher catalytic activity and good cycling stability for NaBH4 hydrolysis were obtained with the chitin-supported catalyst. The reaction conditions were investigated to achieve high hydrogen production. The maximum rate of hydrogen production was obtained at 40(degrees)C and 20 mg catalyst amount. At ideal conditions, the hydrolysis reaction's activation energy was determined to be 51.65 kJ mol(-1). It is indicate that Co-B/Chi is a viable low-cost catalyst for the hydrolysis of NaBH4 for hydrogen production.