Co–Mo–B nanoparticles supported on carbon cloth as effective catalysts for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Abstract

The application of carbon cloth (CC) as the catalyst substrate has been gradually concerned because of its novel physical and chemical properties. Herein, Co–Mo–B nanoparticles grown on CC to form film samples (denoted as Co–Mo–B/CC–F) were prepared, characterized, and applied as effective catalysts for catalyzing the ammonia borane (NH3BH3) hydrolysis. The synthesized Co–Mo–B/CC–F sample at pH = 11.5 shows exceptional catalytic properties, including a fast hydrogen generation rate of 3916.1 mL⋅min−1⋅g−1at room temperature of 298 K, and an extremely low activation energy of 25.2 kJ mol−1. The experimental results indicate that the stacked spherical structure, as well as the synergism between bimetal Co–Mo and nonmetal boron, may bring about the improved catalytic properties of Co–Mo–B/CC–F catalyst. Further investigation about the thermodynamic property has shown that Gibbs free energy of activation is reckoned to be 77.6 kJ· mol−1, demonstrating that NH3BH3 hydrolysis is a non-spontaneous reaction in the presence of Co–Mo–B/CC–F catalyst. This study illustrates that the stacked Co–Mo–B/CC–F catalyst has prosperous application in the non-noble metal catalyst field for the dehydrogenation from NH3BH3.