Highly efficient catalytic dehydrogenation of dimethyl ammonia borane via monodisperse palladium–nickel alloy nanoparticles assembled on PEDOT

Abstract

Addressed herein, the synthesis of the monodisperse poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT) supported palladium–nickel nanomaterials (3.32 ± 0.36 nm) and their applications as a catalyst in dimethylamine-borane (DMAB) dehydrogenation is outlined. Microwave assistance procedure was used in preparation of nanomaterials where palladium and cobalt cations were reduced in PEDOT solution (Pd–Ni@PEDOT) in microwave conditions. The characterization of the nanocatalyst was performed by using UV-VIS, XRD, XPS, TEM and HR-TEM-EELS analyses. The Pd–Ni@PEDOT NPs were found to be highly effective and stable for the dehydrogenation of DMAB. The catalytic activity of Pd–Ni@PEDOT was one of the highest one among the all prepared catalysts in literature even at lower temperatures and concentrations, yielding to give high turnover frequency (451.2 h−1) and low Ea (50.78 ± 2 kJ/mol) for dehydrocoupling of DMAB.