PtCo Nanocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation from Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis

Hydrogen generation from ammonia borane hydrolysis is a promising avenue for the development of the hydrogen economy. Rational design of cost-effective and highly active catalysts for hydrogen generation is desirable but is still a challenge. Herein, we constructed PtCo catalysts by achieving a well-dispersed deposition of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles onto Co nanoparticle supports, thereby optimizing their catalytic performance for hydrogen generation. The physical and electronic structures of PtCo catalysts were regulated via Mo doping to boost the hydrogen generation rate. The optimized PtCoMo-NC-3/0.1 catalyst displayed an unprecedented turnover frequency (TOF) of 6268 min–1 with 0.44 M NaOH. The apparent activation energy of ammonia borane hydrolysis catalyzed by the PtCoMo-NC-3/0.1 catalyst was as low as 26.62 kJ·mol–1. The remarkable catalytic performance was attributed to the synergistic interaction between Pt and Co as well as the structure regulation of the catalysts. The catalyst design strategy in this work avoided the Pt sites from being covered by Co nanoparticles. More active sites were provided for the catalytic hydrolysis reaction, and the synergistic effect between Pt and Co was also enhanced. This work presented a prospect to design efficient bimetallic catalysts with noble and non-noble metals for boosting hydrogen evolution.