PhD Title: Development of Catalysts for Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis to Produce Hydrogen
Bushra Safdar is a PhD candidate at Curtin University within the Hydrogen Storage Research Group, supervised by Professor Craig Buckley. Her research focuses on developing efficient and cost-effective catalysts for hydrogen production through the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4), with particular emphasis on catalyst performance, degradation mechanisms, and regeneration strategies for long-term operation. Her work also contributes to the development of continuous hydrogen generation systems for future clean energy applications.
Bushra holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering and has research experience in catalysis, energy conversion and storage, electrochemical engineering, hydrogen production, and advanced materials synthesis and characterisation. During her PhD, she has developed regeneration strategies for both noble- and transition-metal-based catalysts to improve catalyst durability and provide a cost-effective alternative to replacing deactivated catalysts with newly synthesised materials. As part of this research, she investigates catalyst performance using advanced characterisation techniques, including FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM, and EDS.
Through her research, Bushra aims to contribute to the development of practical and economically viable hydrogen technologies that support Australia’s transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy.