title: Cux Co1-x O Nanoparticles on Graphene Oxide as A Synergistic Catalyst for High-Efficiency Hydrolysis of Ammonia-Borane.
abstract: Ammonia-borane (AB) is an excellent material for chemical storage of hydrogen. However, the practical utilization of AB for production of hydrogen is hindered by the need of expensive noble metal-based catalysts. Here, we report Cux Co1-x O nanoparticles (NPs) facilely deposited on graphene oxide (GO) as a low-cost and high-performance catalyst for the hydrolysis of AB. This hybrid catalyst exhibits an initial total turnover frequency (TOF) value of 70.0 (H2 ) mol/(Cat-metal) mol⋅min, which is the highest TOF ever reported for noble metal-free catalysts, and a good stability keeping 94 % activity after 5 cycles. Synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) investigations suggested that the high catalytic performance could be attributed to the interfacial interaction between Cux Co1-x O NPs and GO. Moreover, the catalytic hydrolysis mechanism was studied by in situ XAS experiments for the first time, which reveal a significant water adsorption on the catalyst and clearly confirm the interaction between AB and the catalyst during hydrolysis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. jzhong@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Binhua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
authors.forename: Lai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. xhsun@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xuhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials Laboratory (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. apannale@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shuit-Tong
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: graphene oxide; heterogeneous catalysis; hydrogen storage; hydrolysis mechanism; nanoparticles