Enhanced catalytic performance of CuNi bimetallic nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis

Ammonia borane (AB, NH3BH3) hydrolysis is an effective way to safely generate hydrogen. However, a suitable catalyst is indispensable because the hydrolytic reaction cannot take place kinetically at room temperature. In this work, CuNi alloy nanoparticles are immobilized on porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with a facile adsorption-chemical reduction method. Benefiting from the hierarchical porous structure of the support, the interesting alloy effect of Cu and Ni, as well as the synergistic effect between g-C3N4 and the CuNi alloys, the optimal Cu0·7Ni0.3/g-C3N4 catalyst displays excellent catalytic performance in AB hydrolysis, such as high turnover frequency (2.08 min−1, at 303 K), low apparent activation energy (23.58 kJ mol−1), and satisfactory durability. The results verify that the optimal catalyst has particular potential in hydrogen energy utilization due to the advantages such as the facile preparation procedure, low cost and excellent catalytic behavior.