Complete dehydrogenation of hydrazine borane and hydrazine catalyzed by MIL-101 supported NiFePd nanoparticles

Trimetallic NiFePd nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-101 have been facilely prepared via a simple impregnation method. The as-prepared NiFePd/MIL-101 catalysts have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with energy dispersed X-ray detector (EDX) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. And the as-synthesized catalysts have been applied for hydrogen generation from aqueous alkaline solution of hydrazine borane (HB, N2H4BH3). Compared to the pure Ni0.36Fe0.24Pd0.4 NPs, MIL-101 supported mono- and bi-metallic counterparts, the Ni0.36Fe0.24Pd0.4/MIL-101 catalyst exhibits much higher catalytic performance for complete conversion of N2H4BH3 to H2 with 100% selectivity at 323 K. The turnover frequency (TOF) value for the dehydrogenation of N2H4BH3 in the presence of Ni0.36Fe0.24Pd0.4/MIL-101 catalyst reaches 60 h−1. Remarkably, the Ni0.36Fe0.24Pd0.4/MIL-101 catalyst also shows high catalytic activity and 100% selectivity towards hydrogen generation from hydrous hydrazine (N2H4·H2O) at 323 K with a TOF value of 40.8 h−1. In addition, the durability tests exhibit that the Ni0.36Fe0.24Pd0.4/MIL-101 catalyst is still highly active in the complete dehydrogenation of N2H4BH3 and decomposition of N2H4·H2O with 100% hydrogen selectivity even after five recycles.