On-Off Control for On-Demand Hydrogen Production from the Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid

of on-off control for on- demand hydrogen production is still a practical matter of supreme importance. Herein, a surfactant-free and facile method was successfully employed to synthesize Ag-Pd/C nanocomposites via simple alloying of commercial Pd/C and Ag for synergistically promoting H2 production from formic acid (FA). The optimal Ag-16-Pd-1/C nanocomposite presents the highest catalytic activity with a turnover frequency of 2444.10 h(-1) and 100% H-2 selectivity, whereas that of commercial Pd/C is only 619.39 h(-1). Indeed, the activation energy has been effectively reduced from 40.45 kJ/mol (Pd/C) to 32.27 kJ/mol (Ag-16-Pd-1/C) by alloying commercial Pd/C with Ag. More importantly, the highly selective and effective on-off switch for hydrogen production upon the dehydrogenation of FA has been successfully achieved by varying the pH.

Automated summary

A surfactant-free method was used to synthesize Ag-Pd/C nanocomposites, with the alloying of Pd/C and Ag significantly improving catalytic activity and hydrogen selectivity. The on-off switch for hydrogen production was successfully achieved by varying the pH, demonstrating high selectivity and effectiveness.