Monodispersed bimetallic nanoparticles anchored on TiO2-decorated titanium carbide MXene for efficient hydrogen production from hydrazine in aqueous solution

Abstract

Selective catalytic decomposition of hydrazine (N2H4) to provide a clean energy carrier hydrogen (H2) is a promising alternative to fossil fuels for the future energy economy. NiPt nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on delamination of TiO2-decorated Ti3C2Tx (denoted as DT-Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets are prepared via a simple wet chemical reduction method and applied as an efficient catalyst for dehydrogenation of N2H4 in aqueous solution. The rich oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of DT-Ti3C2Tx not only facilitate the formation and immobilization of monodisperse NiPt NPs but also enhance the synergistic effect between metal NPs and MXene support. Among all of the tested samples, the optimized Ni0.8Pt0.2/DT-Ti3C2Tx nanocatalyst exhibits the 100% H2 selectivity and best catalytic performance with a TOF value of 1220 h−1 for the selective decomposition of N2H4 at 323 K. In addition, this catalyst also shows excellent catalytic performance for hydrogen production from hydrazine borane (N2H4BH3) via the hydrolysis of borane group and selective decomposition of hydrazine moiety. The TiO2-decorated Ti3C2Tx MXene can be applied as an excellent support to obtain well-dispersed and ultrafine metal NPs for various applications.