A series of MnCl2 impregnated NaBH4 composite mixture was synthesized by facile solution method. The weight percent of MnCl2 varied from 10 wt% to 50 wt% in sodium borohydride during synthesis of the material. The effects of other additives were also studied by considering CaCl2, and ZnCl2. The synthesized materials were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), TGA, FE-SEM, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The generation of hydrogen was monitored by using a Gas Chromatograph. The study suggested that the formation of a homogenous composite mixture and spherical structure of MnCl2/NaBH4 composite material. The optimum loading of additive was found to be 20 wt% MnCl2 for the generation of hydrogen. The addition of additive assists in lowering the thermal decomposition temperature of sodium borohydride at 373 K. The order of thermolysis performance by addition of various additives was as follows: 20CaCl(2)/NaBH4 > 20MnCl(2)/NaBH4 > 20ZnCl(2)/NaBH4. However, the FTIR spectra and the thermolysis study suggested that the decomposition of NaBH4 was incomplete at 373 K even by the addition of additives. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.