Development of catalysts for hydrogen production reactions

Abstract

Due to the increase in the standard of living and the growing population, the energy consumption of the world is extensively increasing. To fulfill the energy demands, the consumption of fossil fuels is increasing, leading to CO2 emission that has negative environmental outcomes. Hydrogen is identified as an alternate source of energy as it is efficient, clean, and renewable. But the production of hydrogen selectively at low cost, with high efficiency, and at ambient conditions are the primary challenges. This thesis is based on the development of heterogeneous catalysts for hydrogen production. Our main aim is to synthesize a catalyst that can effectively produce hydrogen from various hydrogen carriers using less base or base free under mild reaction conditions. This thesis comprises of 4 chapters. The 1st chapter describes the advantages of hydrogen as an alternate energy source and its challenges in storage and transportation. In the 2 nd chapter, the literature reports on hydrogen production using various homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts are explained. In the 3rd chapter, I have discussed the experiments performed and obtained results. In the 4th and last chapter, I have concluded my work with my major findings in the form of a short summary.