Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Cobalt Boride for Efficient Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Ammonia Borane Hydrolysis

In this paper, a simple calcination process was used to synthesize nanocrystalline cobalt boride (CoB), which was employed to catalyze the hydrolysis of ammonia borane solution at room temperature. Specifically, it was found that the CoB exhibited high performance with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 35.3 mol(H2)center dot mol(cat)(-1) center dot min(-1), which is superior to platinum (TOF=29.3 mol(H2)center dot mol(cat)(-1)center dot min(-1)). It still possessed excellent catalytic hydrogen production performance after repeated testing for 8 times. We found that Co-0 species on the surface of CoB is a possible catalytic active site, and the boron site on the surface can effectively assist the Co-0 site to achieve the synergistic catalytic hydrogen production from ammonia borane.

Automated summary

In this study, nanocrystalline cobalt boride (CoB) was synthesized using a simple calcination process and applied as a catalyst for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane solution at room temperature. The CoB catalyst exhibited high performance, surpassing platinum, and maintained excellent catalytic hydrogen production after multiple tests. The study also revealed the possible catalytic active site and the mechanism of synergistic catalytic hydrogen production.