Research progress on catalysts for hydrogen generation through sodium borohydride alcoholysis

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier for realizing the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Nowadays, the development of the hydrogen economy faces many challenges connected with its efficient production, storage, distribution, and enduse. During the past decade, the alcoholysis, particularly methanolysis, of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) has attracted much attention due to the nonflammability, nontoxicity, potential for utilization in cold conditions of the reaction system. Highly efficient catalysts are of great significance to guarantee the efficiency of the reaction and control the hydrogen release. In this review, we summarize recent advances in both metallic and nonmetallic catalysts for the alcoholysis of NaBH4. This review also summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various catalysts in the investigations to assess the potential opportunities and challenges for their application in NaBH4 methanolysis. The catalytic mechanisms related to NaBH4 methanolysis were also discussed. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.