Rapid hydrogen production from hydrolysis of aluminum composites by modulation of chloride salts

Fei Xiao, Chong Chen, Yongli Zhang, Xiaomu Wen, Jiangbo Zhang, Wei Liu and Zhongliang Ma

Energy, 2025, vol. 320, issue C

Abstract: In this study, four chlorinated salts were incorporated as catalysts into aluminum composites through ball milling, resulting in the preparation of four activated aluminum composites (Al/Bi/MxCly). The microstructure of these composites was thoroughly examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Additionally, the hydrogen production characteristics of Al/Bi/MxClyduring hydrolysis reactions were investigated. The findings indicate that various chloride salts (MxCly) can be uniformly distributed on the surface of the activated aluminum composites. Among the four composites, Al/Bi/NH4Cl demonstrated the highest hydrogen production efficiency and volume at temperatures ranging from 10 to 40 °C. Specifically, at 40 °C, Al/Bi/NH4Cl achieved a maximum hydrogen generation rate of 82.2 mL‧g−1‧s−1 and a total hydrogen volume of 977 mL‧g−1. Notably, even at 0 °C, Al/Bi/NH4Cl maintained a rapid hydrolysis reaction, with a hydrogen production rate of 19.8 mL‧g−1‧s−1 and a total hydrogen volume of 908 mL‧g−1. To elucidate the hydrolysis reaction mechanism, the intermediate products, corrosion potentials, temperature variations, and pH changes within the reaction system were also analyzed in detail. The results confirmed that different MxCly catalysts exhibit distinct catalytic mechanisms for the reactive aluminum composites. Particularly, the addition of NH4Cl during the preparation process facilitated the formation of a multilayer structure in Al/Bi/NH4Cl, which effectively accelerated particle fragmentation during the hydrolysis. Furthermore, the acidic nature of NH4Cl efficiently suppressed the increase in solution pH, thereby reducing the deposition of aluminum hydroxide on the particle surfaces and enhancing the overall hydrolysis reaction of aluminum.

Keywords: Chloride salt; Aluminum; Hydrogen production rate; Hydrogen production volume; Mechanism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225008904
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:320:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225008904

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135248

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().