Hexagonal boron nitride supported ruthenium nanoparticles as highly active catalysts for ammonia borane hydrolysis

Ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis is a comparative strategy for developing the sustainable hydrogen economy. Considering the hydrolysis cannot occur kinetically at low temperature, a suitable catalyst is indispensable. In this work, the dispersed ruthenium nano-particles are stabilized on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) via an adsorption-in situ reduction procedure. Various characterization techniques are adopted for elucidating the structure-performance relationship of the obtained catalysts for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. In the presence of the resultant Ru/h-BN catalysts, the corresponding turnover frequency (1177.5 min(-1)) in alkaline solution at 303 K and the apparent activation energy (24.1 kJ mol(-1)) are superior to most literature previously reported. Our work provides a facile fabrication method for metal-based catalysts, which are highly promising in chemical storage material hydrolysis. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study developed a catalyst suitable for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB by stabilizing dispersed ruthenium nano-particles on h-BN. The catalyst exhibited high turnover frequency and low apparent activation energy, showing promising potential in the field of chemical storage material hydrolysis.