Synergistic Effect of RuNi Bimetallic Nanoparticles Immobilized on Ceria as Catalysts for Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis

ABSTRACT The production of hydrogen from chemical hydrides has garnered significant interest as a sustainable method for producing clean energy. The hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH 3 BH 3 , AB) under mild reaction conditions was assessed in this work using a highly active Ru–Ni alloy catalyst supported on CeO 2 . As‐synthesized Ru–Ni/CeO 2 with different metal contents was used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the mild hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. At 298 K, the optimal catalyst is Ru 0.5 Ni 1.25 /CeO 2 , which demonstrated exceptional catalytic activity with a TOF value of 1226.0 mol H2 min − 1 . The calculated apparent activation energy was 37.5 kJ mol −1 , which is even lower than that of the majority of noble‐metal‐based catalysts for AB dehydrogenation. Strong electronic interactions and synergistic effects between Ru and Ni led to the formation of a bimetallic alloy structure with increased catalytic activity when Ni was incorporated into Ru. The dispersion and stability of the nanoparticles were enhanced by CeO 2 ’s strong metal–support interactions, and high oxygen storage capacity, which made it an efficient support. Additionally, after several catalytic cycles, the catalyst showed exceptional structural stability with little activity loss. This study demonstrates the potential of Ru–Ni/CeO 2 as an economical and effective catalyst for applications involving the production of hydrogen.