Construction of a Nano-PtCu/Co3O4 Catalyst for Boosting Hydrogen Generation from Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis

Abstract The green and clean hydrogen energy carrier can be produced rapidly through ammonia borane hydrolysis under mild conditions. Essential to such rapid production is the development of efficient nanocatalysts. Herein, Pt and Cu were dispersed on the Co3O4 support by the impregnation method to prepare the PtCu/Co3O4 nanocatalyst for ammonia borane hydrolysis. The introduction of Cu effectively promoted the reduction of Pt species to metallic Pt0, enhancing the hydrogen generation rate remarkably. The synergistic effect between Pt and Cu further boosted the hydrogen generation rate, endowing the catalyst with outstanding catalytic activity. The optimized PtCu(0.5)/Co3O4 catalyst presented superior catalytic performance, and the TOF value achieved 6310 min1 at 298 K. The catalyst retained high catalytic activity after 5 cycles of reuse. This work provides referable ideas for nanocatalyst design, preparation, and the study of structure−activity relationships.