Invited: Room Temperature Hydrogen Generation from Hydrolysis of Ammonia-Borane over an Efficient Niagpd/C Catalyst

Hydrogen is considered an ideal secondary fuel and energy carrier with a high energy density by weight and it can be used in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells to produce electrical power for vehicles and electronic devices. Current materials such as complex hydrides, and chemical hydrides have been used for hydrogen storage, but most of these materials have low volumetric and/or gravimetric capacity which cannot meet the ideal requirement proposed for the on-board hydrogen storage system by the US department of energy (volumetric capacity > 82 g/L and gravimetric capacity > 9 wt.%). Ammonia borane (NH₃BH₃, denoted as AB) which stores 19.5 wt.% of hydrogen is a promising material for this purpose. Hydrogen release from AB is typically achieved through two pathways: thermolysis and hydrolysis. Thermal dehydrogenation of AB can be catalyzed, but the product (BN complex) is hardly  soluble in any solvent which make the reaction irreversible. Hydrolysis of AB is a different approach and hydrogen can be released at ambient temperatures in the presence of suitable catalysts. Herein, we report the synthesis of a trimetallic nanoalloy supported on carbon (NiAgPd/C) by reduction of the corresponding metal salts under mild reaction conditions. This trimetallic nanomaterial shows excellent catalytic activity and stability toward hydrogen generation though AB hydrolysis at room temperature, comparable to those of Pt-based catalysts.