Synergetic effect of Au nanoparticles and transition metal phosphides for enhanced hydrogen evolution from ammonia-borane

The hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane is intriguing but challenging due to its sluggish kinetics. In this regard, the gold nanoparticles amalgamation with metal phosphides is speculated to be more effi-cient catalysts. Here, the catalysts Au/Ni2P and Au/CoP with the high synergetic effect of Au nanoparticles and metal phosphides were synthesized for ammonia borane hydrolysis. The activity of Au/Ni2P increases 4.8-fold (i.e., 0.08 to 0.40 L center dot h-1) compared to pristine Ni2P, and the activity of Au/CoP increases 1.7-fold (i.e., 0.74 to 1.27 L center dot h-1) compared to pristine CoP. This reveals that the synergetic effect of Au5+ and (Ni2P) 5- is stronger than Au5+ and (CoP) 5- which is manifested by XPS analysis. The kinetics exposes that the activation energy of Au/Ni2P (45.28 kJ center dot mole-1) is greater than Au/CoP (31.45 kJ center dot mole-1) and the TOF of Au/Ni2P is less than Au/CoP. This research work presents an effective approach for producing active sites of Au5+ and (Ni2P & CoP) 5- for ammonia borane hydrolysis to enhance the H2 evolution rate.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, Au/Ni2P and Au/CoP catalysts were synthesized for ammonia borane hydrolysis, showing increased activity compared to Ni2P and CoP, respectively, due to the synergistic effect of Au nanoparticles and metal phosphides. XPS analysis revealed that the synergistic effect of Au5+ and (Ni2P)5- was stronger than that of Au5+ and (CoP)5-. Kinetic studies showed higher activation energy and lower TOF for Au/Ni2P compared to Au/CoP, providing an effective approach for enhancing the H2 evolution rate in ammonia borane hydrolysis.