Wan C, Li R, Wang J, Cheng DG, Chen F, Xu L, Gao M, Kang Y, Eguchi M, Yamauchi Y.
Silica Confinement for Stable and Magnetic Co-Cu Alloy Nanoparticles in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024:e202404505. [PMID:
38598471 DOI:
10.1002/anie.202404505]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia borane (AB) with 19.6 wt.% H2 content is widely considered a safe and efficient medium for H2 storage and release. Co-based nanocatalysts present strong contenders for replacing precious metal-based catalysts in AB hydrolysis due to their high activity and cost-effectiveness. However, precisely adjusting the active centers and surface properties of Co-based nanomaterials to enhance their activity, as well as suppressing the migration and loss of metal atoms to improve their stability, presents many challenges. In this study, mesoporous-silica-confined bimetallic Co-Cu nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (CoxCu1-x@NC@mSiO2) were synthesized using a facile mSiO2-confined thermal pyrolysis strategy. The obtained product, an optimized Co0.8Cu0.2@NC@mSiO2 catalyst, exhibits enhanced performance with a turnover frequency of 240.9 molH2∙molmetal∙min-1 for AB hydrolysis at 298 K, surpassing most noble-metal-free catalysts. Moreover, Co0.8Cu0.2@NC@mSiO2 demonstrated magnetic recyclability and extraordinary stability, with a negligible decline of only 0.8% over 30 cycles of use. This enhanced performance was attributed to the synergistic effect between Co and Cu, as well as silica confinement. This work proposes a promising method for constructing noble-metal-free catalysts for AB hydrolysis.
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