Study on the effect of metal sulfates on the reactivity of activated aluminum composites

In this paper, aluminum composites with metal sulfates (sodium sulfate, iron sulfate, copper sulfate) and bismuth are prepared via ball milling to investigate the role of sulfates in influencing hydrolysis performance. Characterization is performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to systematically investigate the hydrogen generation properties of the composites. Al–Bi–Na₂SO₄ exhibits excellent hydrolysis performance, with low activation energy, low corrosion potential, and high corrosion current density, achieving a maximum hydrogen generation rate of 46.7 mL/s·g. Furthermore, Al–Bi–Fe₂(SO₄)₃ enhances activity by altering the microstructure and increasing the specific surface area. Although its hydrogen generation rate is moderate, it exhibits a high hydrogen conversion yield of 97.0 %. In contrast, Al–Bi–CuSO₄ inhibits the hydrolysis reaction. Analysis of the hydrolysate reveals that flocculent precipitates form on the surface after the reaction begins, preventing further progress of the reaction.