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 current climate crisis warrants investigation into alternative fuel sources. The hydrolysis reaction of an aqueous hydride precursor, and the subsequent production of hydrogen gas, prove to be a viable option. A network of beta-cyclodextrin capped gold nanoparticles (BCD-AuNP) was synthesized and subsequently characterized by Powder X-Ray Diffraction (P-XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-VIS) to confirm the presence of gold nanoparticles as well as their size of approximately 8 nm. The catalytic activity of the nanoparticles was tested in the hydrolysis reaction of sodium borohydride. The gold catalyst performed best at 303 K producing 1.377 mL min−1 mLcat−1 of hydrogen. The activation energy of the catalyst was calculated to be 54.7 kJ/mol. The catalyst resisted degradation in reusability trials, continuing to produce hydrogen gas in up to five trials.