The catalytic role of cubic iron oxide coated graphene oxide for hydrogen generation via hydrolysis of Magnesium

To produce on-site hydrogen, hydrolysis of Mg at room temperature is significantly greener and more economical. For hydrolysis, it is found that the reaction kinetics of Mg are sluggish, which hinders its practical applications. In this work, low-cost, stable and easy to synthesized cubic iron oxide couple graphene oxide (Fe2O3@GO) composite is employed to promote the hydrolysis performance of Mg. Rapid hydrolysis kinetics and lower activation energy is achieved with the addition of Fe2O3@GO. So, 1 h ball milled Mg-5wt%Fe2O3@GO composite achieves 872.1 mL/g H2 yield in 5 min with seawater while 17.2 kJ/mol activation energy is calculated for hydrolysis reaction. Not only that, but it also demonstrates a highly stable structure that remains stable during the hydrolysis. Cycling performance demonstrates the stable structure of Fe2O3@GO; over 92 % H2 yield confirm the highly catalytic activity of Fe2O3@GO. The catalytic mechanism reveals that the significant improvement of hydrolysis performance is attributed to the excellent combination of micro galvanic cells between Mg and Fe2O3@GO which hinders the formation of passive oxide Mg(OH)2 layers. Therefore, this project provides an innovative approach for catalyzing the hydrolysis of Mg and offers guidelines for the development of H2 generation technologies for future.