Smart construction of oxidized-Ti3C2TX stabilized Rh nanoparticles for remarkable improving the catalytic performance for ammonia borane hydrolysis

Abstract

Supported Rh nanoparticle (NP) catalysts have been widespread investigated for hydrogen production from ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis. However, it is still challenging to develop an efficient strategy to improve the catalytic performances of supported Rh NP catalysts considering the high-cost and limited reserve of Rh. To overcome this limitation, we propose a facile but effective method to significantly improve the catalytic performance of Rh NPs by using oxidized-Ti3C2Tx (o-Ti3C2Tx) as a NP support. The systematic investigation results suggest that well distributed and ultrasmall Rh NPs with a diameter of 2.60 nm are successfully loaded on the o-Ti3C2Tx surface, which can be used as excellent catalysts for hydrogen release from AB hydrolysis. The corresponding turnover frequency (TOF) of 2021 min−1 and activation energy of 18.7 kJ/mol are achieved, which are superior to that of Rh NPs supported on a fresh Ti3C2Tx support and most of previous reported Rh NP catalysts. Additionally, the reusability test shows that Rh/o-Ti3C2Tx can maintain 53% of the initial catalytic activity after the fifth run. This study opens a new avenue to adjust the catalytic activity of metal NP catalysts for use in field of catalytic applications.