LAUSR

In this paper, the optimization of hydrogen (H 2 ) production by ammonia borane (NH 3 BH 3 ) over PdCoAg/AC was investigated using the response surface methodology. Besides, the electro-oxidation of NH 3 BH 3 was determined and optimized using the same method to measure its potential use in the direct ammonium boran fuel cells. Moreover, the ternary alloyed catalyst was synthesized using the chemical reduction method. The synergistic effect between Pd, Co and Ag plays an important role in enhancement of NH 3 BH 3 hydrolysis. In addition, the support effect could also efficiently improve the catalytic performance. Furthermore, the effects of NH 3 BH 3 concentration (0.1–50 mmol/5 mL), catalyst amount (1–30 mg) and temperature (20°C–50°C) on the rate of H 2 production and the effects of temperature (20°C–50°C), NH 3 BH 3 concentration (0.05–1 mol/L) and catalyst amount (0.5–5 µL) on the electro-oxidation reaction of NH 3 BH 3 were investigated using the central composite design experimental design. The implementation of the response surface methodology resulted in the formulation of four models out of which the quadratic model was adjudged to efficiently appropriate the experimental data. A further statistical analysis of the quadratic model demonstrated the significance of the model with a p-value far less than 0.05 for each model and coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.85 and 0.95 for H 2 production rate and NH 3 BH 3 electrroxidation peak current, respectively.