Monolithic CoMoB based catalyst enabling high water-sources adaptive hydrolysis of borohydrides

High water-source adaptability is meaningful to the popularization of hydrolysis of borohydrides as portable hydrogen generation technique. Herein, the key catalyst that can enable high water-sources adaptive hydrolysis of borohydrides is successfully developed for the first time. The as-prepared monolithic CoMoB based catalyst has outstanding catalytic activity with high hydrogen generation rate of the 3.0 L min−1 g−1 at 25 °C and low activation energy of 38.7 kJ mol−1 toward the hydrolysis of NaBH4 using deionized water. More importantly, the catalyst exhibits distinguished durability toward hydrolysis of borohydrides in various water, including deionized water, lake water, and even seawater benefiting from its unique structure and gas scouring effect. Furthermore, an efficient NaBH4-based H2 supply system is developed with the catalyst and this system successfully achieves full drive of 100 W fuel cell using different sources of water. This study may provide a new protocol to develop portable H2 generation system with high water source adaptability in wild environments.