High‐Efficiency Hydrogen Production From Hydrazine Borane Using Cu/MIL‐53(Al) Nanocatalysts: Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation Nanocatalysts Supported on MIL‐53(Al)

Abstract This work highlights the novelty of investigating hydrogen production from hydrazine borane (HB) using copper (Cu). This first‐row transition metal is abundant yet underexplored as a catalyst compared to precious metals. We focus on The synthesis of Cu nanoparticles supported on MIL‐53(Al) (Cu/MIL‐53(Al)) through an impregnation‐reduction method and evaluate their performance in HB hydrolysis. Advanced characterization techniques, including X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and TEM‐energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (TEM‐EDX), reveal an average Cu nanoparticle size of 3.94 ± 0.32 nm. Notably, the turnover frequency (TOF) for hydrogen production with Cu/MIL‐53(Al) at 298 K was 966 h⁻¹ (16.1 min⁻¹), representing the highest TOF reported for Cu‐based systems in HB hydrolysis. Furthermore, we calculated the activation energy (Ea # ), activation enthalpy (ΔH # ), and activation entropy (ΔS # ) for the Cu/MIL‐53(Al) catalyst as 83.77 kJ mol⁻¹, 81.15 kJ mol⁻¹, and 48.56 J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹, respectively, using the Arrhenius and Eyring‐Polanyi equations. These findings underscore the potential of Cu/MIL‐53(Al) as an efficient and cost‐effective catalyst for hydrogen production, significantly advancing sustainable hydrogen energy technologies.