Controllable preparation of Co-based catalysts doped with Cu and Mo for boosting hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis is a promising way for utilization of clean energy. Development of efficient and stable non-noble catalysts for improvement of hydrogen generation rate is essential but still a challenge. Herein, the heterostructured Co-based catalysts were controllably designed by combining the synergistic effect with oxygen vacancy engineering to improve the hydrogen generation rate. CoCu1Mo3-NC-O-15 exhibits the TOF value of 24.44 min−1 at 298 K with addition of 0.44 M NaOH, which is nearly 68 times that of Co-NC. The activation energy over CoCu1Mo3-NC-O-15 is 28.44 kJ mol−1. The CoCu1Mo3-NC-O-15 catalyst presents the good stability in ammonia borane hydrolysis reaction due to the carbon-coated structure. The strong synergistic effect and oxygen vacancy are favorable to the adsorption and dissociation of NH3BH3 and H2O molecules, leading to an astonishing improvement of catalytic activity. This study provides a novel way to design the heterostructured catalysts and a rational way to boost the dehydrogenation rate from AB.