Bifunctional Ru‐Cluster‐Decorated Co₃B−Co(OH)₂ Hybrid Catalyst Synergistically Promotes NaBH₄ Hydrolysis and Water Splitting

Abstract

Developing a highly efficient bifunctional catalyst for hydrolysis of metal hydrides and spontaneous hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is essential for substituting conventional fuels for H2 production. Herein, Ru‐cluster‐modified Co3B−Co(OH)2 supported on nickel foam (Ru/Co3B−Co(OH)2@NF) is constructed by electroless deposition, calcination and chemical reduction. The catalyst exhibits an excellent hydrogen generation rate (HGR) of 4989 mL min−1 normalgcatalyst-1 ${{{\rm g}}_{catalyst}^{-1}}$ and good reusability, superior to most previously reported catalysts. Besides, Ru/Co3B−Co(OH)2@NF displays a prominent hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic capability with a low overpotential of 153.0 mV at 100 mA cm−2 (50.5 mV at 10 mA cm−2), a small Tafel slope of 40.0 mV dec−1 and long‐term stability (100 h@10 mA cm−2) in 1.0 M KOH. The excellent catalytic H2 generation capacity benefits from the rapid charge transfer promoted by metallic Co3B, the synergistic catalytic effect of Co3B−Co(OH)2 and Ru clusters, and the unique composite structure favorable for solute transport and gas emission.

The mechanism and challenges of cobalt-boron-based catalysts in the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride

“…The catalytic activities of Fe–Co–B/Ni foam catalysts with porous structures were improved further using the electroless plating method. 88 Park et al 89 and H. Li et al 90 systematically studied the performance of Ni foam-supported catalysts with different doping elements. It inferred that the nanoparticle size of Co–Ni–P–B on the surface of Ni foam was the smallest, resulting in the most uniform distribution of the particles and the highest HG rate.…”

Photocatalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane over Ti3C2/MOF-supported Pd-doped Co nanoparticles

“…3 Among them, a variety of chemical hydrogen storage materials including aminoborane, methylcyclohexane, borane hydrazine, and sodium borohydride have attracted a lot of attention owing to their complete dehydrogenation under mild conditions. 4,5 With a high hydrogen content (19.6 wt%) and great stability, ammonia borane (NH 3 BH 3 , AB) as one of the aminoboranes is regarded as a potential chemical for storing hydrogen. 6 Dehydrogenation from the thermal decomposition of AB is often accomplished at high temperature with enormous energy consumption, but three equivalent hydrogen from AB hydrolysis can be facilely produced at ambient temperature using appropriate metal nanocatalysts.…”