Progress in Co-B related catalyst for hydrogen production by hydrolysis of boron-hydrides: A review and the perspectives to substitute noble metals

Boron-hydrides are the most promising source to produce clean H-2 gas with very high rate at room temperature. To increase and control the H-2 generation rate through hydrolysis of boron-hydrides an efficient and robust catalyst is necessary, made up of elements that are abundant in our earth. Interest in Co-based catalysts, mainly cobalt boride (Co-B), arises by their special features that make them potential substitute of noble metal catalyst for H-2 production. Even economically this catalyst best suits the scenario for the future systems. The present review exhaustively and systematically highlights the progress made in the development of Co-based catalyst towards hydrogen production by hydrolysis of various boron-hydrides. Various strategies for synthesizing such catalysts and improving their activity and stability, including optimizing preparation conditions, nanostructuring, alloying, supporting on various materials, and exploiting hybrid systems, are discussed. Finally, by summarizing the successful and efficient routes, future challenges and perspectives to design a novel single catalyst for direct application are presented, along with the problems that must be resolved on a theoretical level to understand the mechanisms that govern the process of catalysis: this is an area of research that usually affects all catalysts.