Cobalt ferrite supported platinum nanoparticles: Superb catalytic activity and outstanding reusability in hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Abstract

In this work, platinum(0) nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of magnetic cobalt ferrite forming magnetically separable Pt0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, which are efficient catalysts in H2 generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane. Catalytic activity of Pt0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles decreases with the increasing platinum loading, parallel to the average particle size. Pt0/CoFe2O4 (0.23% wt. Pt) nanoparticles have an average diameter of 2.30 ± 0.47 nm and show an extraordinary turnover frequency of 3628 min−1 in releasing 3.0 equivalent H2 per mole of ammonia borane from the hydrolysis at 25.0 °C. Moreover, the magnetically separable Pt0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles possess high reusability retaining 100% of their initial catalytic activity even after ten runs of hydrolysis. The superb catalytic activity and outstanding reusability make the Pt0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles very attractive catalysts for the hydrogen generation systems in portable and stationary fuel cell applications.