Hydrous hydrazine (N2H4·H2O) has great potential as a convenient
and safe hydrogen source for
fuel cells. Tremendous efforts have been made to develop economic
and efficient metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution from N2H4·H2O, but it remains a huge challenge.
Herein, for the first time, noble-metal-free CuNi nanoparticles (NPs)
immobilized on lanthanum oxycarbonate/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites
(CuNi/La2O2CO3/rGO) were successfully
fabricated through an impregnation-reduction approach. Well-dispersed
and ultrafine CuNi alloy NPs (∼3.2 nm) can be easily anchored
onto La2O2CO3/rGO, and the aggregation
of metal NPs can be effectively avoided. Benefiting from the small
metal NP size, the synergistic effect between Cu and Ni, and the strong
metal–support interactions, the Cu0.5Ni0.5/La2O2CO3/rGO nanocomposites (NCs)
exhibited remarkably improved catalytic activity and 100% H2 selectively toward N2H4 decomposition, outperforming
Cu/La2O2CO3/rGO, Ni/La2O2CO3/rGO, CuNi/rGO, and CuNi/La2O2CO3. The total turnover frequency of Cu0.5Ni0.5/La2O2CO3/rGO catalyst reached up to 114.3 h–1 at 343 K,
indicating that the Cu0.5Ni0.5/La2O2CO3/rGO is one of the most active noble-metal-free
catalysts ever reported for the same reaction. The low-cost and outstanding
catalytic activity of CuNi/La2O2CO3/rGO NCs improved the feasibility of using N2H4·H2O as a chemical hydrogen carrier and is expected
to be applied in economic hydrogen-based fuel cells.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.