Effect of Al2O3-supported Cu-Schiff base complex as a catalyst for hydrogen generation in NaBH4 hydrolysis

Cu-Schiff base complex which we previously synthesized (Kilinc et al., 2012) is supported on Al2O3. The prepared catalyst is characterized by using SEM, XRD, BET, and FT-IR methods. And Al2O3-supported complex is used as a catalyst in NaBH4 hydrolysis reaction for hydrogen generation. NaBH4 hydrolysis reactions are investigated depending on the concentration of NaBH4 and NaOH, temperature, percentage of Cu complex, and amount of catalyst. Maximum reaction rates are 44,453.33 and 57,410.00 mL H-2/g.cat.min at 30 degrees C and 50 degrees C, respectively. The activation energy of NaBH4 hydrolysis reaction is found as 225,775 kJ(.)mol(-1). All the experimental results and literature comparisons show that Al2O3-supported Cu-Schiff base complex is a very effective catalyst in NaBH4 hydrolysis for H-2 generation.