Hydrogen Generation From Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane in the Presence of Highly Efficient Poly(n-Vinyl Platinum-Ruthenium Nanoparticles

Abstract

Herein, the employment of PVP-protected Pt-Ru bimetallic nanoparticles (3.2 +/- 1.4 nm) as highly efficient catalysts in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane for hydrogen generation is reported. They were prepared by co-reduction of two metal ions in ethanol/water mixture by an alcohol reduction method and characterized by TEM-EDX analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. They are recyclable and highly active for hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane even at very low concentrations and temperature, providing a record numbers of average TOP value (308 mol H-2 MOl(cat)(-1) min(-1)) and maximum hydrogen generation rate (9884 L H-2 min(-1) (mol(cat))(-1)) for ammonia borane. PVP-protected Pt-Ru bimetallic nanoparticles provide activation energy of 56.3 +/- 2 kJ mol(-1) for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.