Out-of-plane CoRu nanoalloy axially coupling CosNC for electron enrichment to boost hydrogen production

Abstract

Hydrogen production from borohydride hydrolysis is a green and sustainable route to convert hydrogen energy. In the progress, the regulation of electron enrichment and distribution around the active site is the key to promote hydrogen-adsorption during hydrogen production. Here, we fabricated an out-of-plane CoRu nanoalloy axially coupling CosNC for high electron attachment in hydrolysis of ammonia borane. The axially coupling of out-of-plane CoRu nanoalloy on CosNC surface for electron enrichment enhances the hydrogen bonding (H*) energy and cycle life. The hydrogen production efficiency (1068 molH2 molRu−1 min−1) and activation energy (18.96 kJ mol−1) are the best among reported Co-based alloys. Theoretical calculations show that an electron-integration-boosting effect from axially accurate tailoring of CoRu alloy on CosNC to reduce the reaction energy barrier for co-activation of AB and H2O. This work provides insight into structure-activity identification for efficient hydrogen production.