Maximizing the Synergistic Effect of CoNi Catalyst on α-MoC for Robust Hydrogen Production

We report the syntheses of highly dispersed CoNi bimetallic catalysts on the surface of alpha-MoC based on the strong metal support interaction (SMSI) effect. The interaction between the nearly atomically dispersed Co and Ni atoms was observed for the first time by the real-space chemical mapping at the atomic level. Combined with the ability of alpha-MoC to split water at low temperatures, the as-synthesized CoNi/alpha-MoC catalysts exhibited robust and synergistic performance for the hydrogen production from hydrolysis of ammonia borane. The metal-normalized activity of the bimetallic 1.5Co1.5Ni/alpha-MoC catalyst reached 321.1 mol(H2).mol(-1) (CoNi).min(-1) at 298 K, which surpasses all the noble metal-free catalysts ever reported and is four times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Automated summary

This study reports the synthesis of highly dispersed CoNi bimetallic catalysts on alpha-MoC surface through the strong metal support interaction (SMSI) effect. The as-synthesized CoNi/alpha-MoC catalysts exhibited robust and synergistic performance for hydrogen production from hydrolysis of ammonia borane, with metal-normalized activity surpassing all previously reported noble metal-free catalysts and being four times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.