Acid-Promoted Hydrogen Generation from Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis Over Mcm-41-Supported Ultrafine Ptni Nanoparticles

Catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) is considered to be a promising, secure and effective route for hydrogen generation on-demand. Developing highly efficient catalysts for hydrogen production from AB hydrolysis is of considerable important but remains a huge challenge. Herein, a series of bimetal PtNi nanoparticles (NPs) were immobilized on mesoporous MCM-41 via a facile impregnation-reduction method. Attributing to the regular pore channel and high surface area of the mesoporous zeolite support as well as the structural property of PtNi alloys and the synergistic effect between Pt and Ni atoms, the Pt0.4Ni0.6/MCM-41 catalyst exhibits superb catalytic activity towards hydrogen generation from AB hydrolysis. The turnover frequency (TOF) value reaches 5086 molH2(molPt∙min)-1 in 1 M HCl medium at 298 K, which is ca. 17 times as high as that of monometallic Pt/MCM-41. In addition, the Pt0.4Ni0.6/MCM-41 catalyst exhibits superior cyclic stability with 81.2% TOF value maintained after five cycles.