Ru Nanoparticles Immobilized on Chitosan as Effective Catalysts for Boosting NH3BH3 Hydrolysis

Abstract Developing an advanced heterogeneous catalyst is essential for realizing high‐performance ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis, which is a safe and efficient way to generate hydrogen. In this work, a series of ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles (NPs) immobilized on chitosan (CS) natural polymers are synthesized via an adsorption‐in situ reduction method. Various analytical techniques, including XRD, XPS, FT‐IR, SEM and TEM, are adopted to explore the structure‐catalytic performance relationships of the obtained catalysts for hydrolysis of AB. Benefitting from the possible interaction between Ru NPs and the amino and hydroxyl groups in CS, the as‐prepared catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic behavior for hydrogen generation from AB hydrolysis. Catalyzed by the optimal Ru/CS, the turnover frequency reaches up to 331.8 min −1 in NaOH solution at 303 K, and the corresponding apparent activation energy is 41.3 kJ mol −1 , which are superior to many results previously reported. This work demonstrates that the obtained Ru/CS is a promising and efficient catalyst for the hydrolysis of solid hydrogen storage materials.