Generation of hydrogen from magnesium alloy scraps catalyzed by platinum-coated titanium net in NaCl aqueous solution

Abstract The recycling of end-of-life magnesium products is important because Mg alloy has an increasing number of uses in automotive and electronic consumer applications. Currently, however, only high-grade Mg scraps are recyclable and over half of all Mg scraps cannot be processed economically. This work proposes a new method for generating H 2 gas in NaCl aqueous solution by the hydrolysis of a secondary Mg sample made of low-grade Mg alloy scraps at 20 ∘ C . A Pt-coated Ti net was used to catalyze hydrolysis between a Pt film and an Mg sample. When the Pt-coated Ti net was statically pressed on the surface of the Mg sample, the mean H 2 generation rate was around 302.3 ml min - 1 ( g of catalyst weight ) - 1 for 1600 s. When the Pt-coated Ti net catalyst was ground onto the Mg sample surface, the rate of H 2 production by the system improved significantly. The total volume of H 2 generated was around 7.5 times that generated when the catalyst was statically loaded on the surface of the Mg sample. The mean H 2 generation rate was around 432.4 ml min - 1 ( g of catalyst ) - 1 over 8100 s. The grinding of the catalyst against the surface of the sample caused the removing of the Mg ( OH ) 2 passive layer, generating a large volume of H 2 .