Highly Efficient Pt Decorated CoCu Bimetallic Nanoparticles Protected in Silica for Hydrogen Production from Ammonia–Borane

Pt decorated CoCu bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) coated by silica (Pt-CoCu@SiO2) were synthesized for efficient catalytic hydrogen production from hydrolysis of ammonia–borane (NH3·BH3; AB). Initially, silica-coated CoCu bimetallic NPs (CoCu@SiO2) were prepared by a modified co-reduction method from reverse microemulsion. Further, Pt-CoCu@SiO2 was obtained by a facile spontaneous displacement reaction by using CoCu@SiO2 and H2PtCl6 as the starting materials. The catalytic activity of Pt on bimetallic support was compared to that of monometallic supports, i.e., Co and Cu. The results of catalytic experiments showed that the support of CoCu bimetal can significantly enhance the activity of Pt as compared to that of pure Cu or Co. An impressive turnover frequency (TOF) value of 272.8 molH2 molPt–1 min–1 was achieved at the hydrolysis temperature of 30 °C for Pt-CoCu@SiO2. The detailed formation process of catalysts was described, and the samples were characterized by TEM, STEM, XPS, EDS element mapping, etc.