Three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogel supported Co-CeOx nanoclusters as efficient catalysts for hydrogen generation from hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Abstract

The development of highly active noble-metal-free catalysts for catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane is mandatory for its application in hydrogen storage. Herein, Co-CeOx nanoclusters have been successfully anchored on a three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogel (NGH) by a simple co-reduction method and further used as efficient catalysts to catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane at room temperature. Thanks to the strong synergistic electronic effect between Co and CeOx, as well as the strong metal-support interaction between Co-CeOx and 3D NGH, the as-synthesized Co-(CeOx)0.91/NGH catalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity toward hydrolysis of ammonia borane, with the turnover frequency (TOF) value of 79.5min−1, which is almost 13 times higher than that of Co/NGH, and higher than most of the reported noble-metal-free catalysts.