Hydrogen generation from ammonia borane by chemically dealloyed platinum nanoparticles

In this study, platinum catalysts were prepared from cosputtered platinum-aluminum alloys by dealloying method and utilized in hydrogen generation from ammonia borane. Aluminum was selectively removed from the alloy by sodium hydroxide. The resultant platinum particles obtained after dealloying was found to have nanoporous structure. The effect of Al sputtering power on hydrogen generation performance of particles was evaluated. The catalysts were characterized by SEM, TEM, and Zeta-Sizer. The maximum hydrogen generation rate of the catalysts was measured as 82.8 (+/- 2.2) L H-2 min(-1) g(catalyst)(-1). The effect of catalyst amount was also evaluated. The activation energy of the reaction was calculated as 20.4 (+/- 0.8) kJ mol(-1). Furthermore, the catalysts could preserve their catalytic activity upon consecutive runs with effective washing steps.