A palladium nanoparticle/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite (Pd/MWCNT) was produced, characterized, and tested for catalytic activity in a hydrogen evolution reaction. The characterization included transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which confirmed the presence of the nanoparticles on the walls of the MWCNTs, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and SEM–energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). TEM characterization showed the 20–35 nm diameter of the MWCNTs and the 2–4 nm diameter of the palladium nanoparticles. The composite outperformed the precursor MWCNTs and Pd nanoparticles and performed best at pH 7 at 295 K with 835 μmoles producing hydrogen at a rate of 23.0 mLmin–1gcat –1. Variation of the temperature of the reaction allowed the calculation of the activation energy, which is 62.66 kJ/mol, showing its promise as a heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions.

In this study, a silver nanoparticle (AgNPs)/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite (AgMWCNT) was synthesized, characterized, and applied to the hydrolysis reaction of aqueous sodium borohydride. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the composite contained two variations of the silver nanoparticles, one being 20 nm nanoparticles, the other being microscale agglomerations of the silver nanoparticles. The composite material performed impressively as a catalyst of the NaBH 4 hydrolysis reaction producing hydrogen at a rate of 17.4 mL min −1 g −1 at a pH of 7, temperature of 303 K, with 835 μmol of reactant. The activation energy of the reaction as catalyzed by the heterogeneous Ag/MWCNT composite was determined to be 44.45 kJ/mol, which is competitive among reported catalysts to date.

The increasing energy demands of the world today have prompted a more thorough investigation into alternative fuels. The renewable nature of hydrogen gas and its environmentally-benign byproducts when produced by the hydrolysis reaction of water and sodium borohydride have identified this as a viable method of production for the alternative fuel. Gold and platinum nanoparticles were synthesized using beta-cyclodextrin for applications in hydrogen evolution reactions from sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The resulting homogenous metal nanoparticles were characterized using Ultraviolet- visible spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Catalytic activity of the hydrogen evolution reactions was measured using a previously described gravimetric water displacement system [1,2]. The data collected shows an increase in the efficiency of the hydrogen generation reaction with the addition of gold and platinum nanoparticles when compared to the un-catalyzed reaction. Overall, gold nanoparticles showed the highest reaction rate of 0.0016 mol-1 sec-1 at a standard concentration of NaBH4, standard pH 7 and an increased temperature at 30 °C. The platinum nanoparticle catalyzed reaction preformed best with a standard concentration of NaBH4 and a standard pH 7 solution producing a rate constant of 0.0021 mol-1 sec-1. All reaction rates were determined to be second order kinematic reactions. References 1. T. Dushatinski, C. Huff, and T. Abdel-Fattah, Applied Surface Science, 385, 282 (2016). 2. C. Huff, T. Dushatinski, A. Barzanji, N. Abdel-Fattah, K. Barzanji, and T. Abdel-Fattah, ECS J Solid State, 6, M69-M71 (2017).