Ruthenium Supported on Cobalt‐Embedded Porous Carbon with Hollow Structure as Efficient Catalysts toward Ammonia‐Borane Hydrolysis for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

AbstractCatalysts with high activity play an indispensable role in ammonia‐borane (AB) hydrolysis for hydrogen production. Supported catalysts are always used because proper support can effectively prevent metal particle agglomeration. In addition, the interaction between support and metal species can further enhance the catalytic activity. Herein, cobalt‐embedded porous carbon with polyhedral structure (CoPCP) is successfully synthesized by one‐step carbonization of a core‐shell structured ZIF‐8@ZIF‐67 composite. As support, Ru nanoparticles are loaded on CoPCP by in situ reduction to obtain Ru/CoPCP catalysts with a special hollow structure, effectively preventing Ru nanoparticles from agglomeration. Moreover, the existence of synergistic effect between Co metal and Ru nanoparticles in Ru/CoPCP catalyst is confirmed by a series of well‐designed control experiments. Both these factors endow the Ru/CoPCP catalyst with high activity and decent stability toward AB hydrolysis. A low activation energy (Ea = 31.25 kJ mol–1) and a high catalytic performance (turnover frequency = 243.4 molH2 molRu–1 min–1) are simultaneously achieved for Ru1/CoPCP‐1000 even with a low amount of Ru (1.88 wt%). This work represents a promising method to prepare the high‐activity catalysts with low content of noble metals for diverse applications in heterogeneous catalysis.