The electric-dipole effect of Pt-Ni for enhanced catalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane

In this work, we prepared the PtNi alloy nanoparticles on Al2O3 (Al2O3-PtNi) via a simple wet-grinding method followed by a thermal reduction process. The as-prepared Al2O3-PtNi displayed a higher TOF of 426.84 mol(H2) (mol(Pt).min)(-1) toward the dehydrogenation of AB (ammonia borane) than Al2O3-Pt and Al2O3-Ni. Based on the theoretical calculations, an electric-dipole effect generated by the neighboring Pt-Ni atoms was found to facilitate the catalytic dehydrogenation process of ammonia borane (AB). The external electric field produced by the Pt-Ni dipole can elongate the B-H bond and increase the negative charges of H atoms on the BH3 group, which helps to activate the B-H bond in the AB molecule, and thus enhances the kinetic process of catalysis. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.