Synergistic interface between metal Cu nanoparticles and CoO for highly efficient hydrogen production from ammonia borane.

The development of efficient non-noble metal catalysts for the dehydrogenation of hydrogen (H) storage materials is highly desirable to enable the global production and storage of H energy. In this study, Cu -(CoO) /TiO catalysts with a Cu-CoO interface supported on TiO are shown to exhibit high catalytic efficiency for ammonia borane (NHBH) hydrolysis to generate H. The best catalytic activity was observed for a catalyst with a Cu : Co molar ratio of 1 : 1. The highest dehydrogenation turnover frequency (TOF) of 104.0 mol mol min was observed in 0.2 M NaOH at room temperature, surpassing most of the TOFs reported for non-noble catalysts for NHBH hydrolysis. Detailed characterisation of the catalysts revealed electronic interactions at the Cu-CoO heterostructured interface of the catalysts. This interface provides bifunctional synergetic sites for H generation, where activation and adsorption of NHBH and HO are accelerated on the surface of Cu and CoO, respectively. This study details an effective method of rationally designing non-noble metal catalysts for H generation a metal and transition-metal oxide interface.