Bimetallic PtNi Nanoclusters Supported on Carbon Nanospheres as Catalysts for H2 Production from Dimethylamineborane Hydrolysis

Although remarkable advances are achieved in the development of novel and high-efficiency catalytic systems for H2 production from the decomposition of dimethylamineborane in neat organic media, there are few available reports on H2 production upon dimethylamineborane hydrolysis. Hence, it is still of high importance to design and develop efficient and highly selective catalysts for H2 production upon dimethylamineborane hydrolysis. Herein, we have first designed and synthesized a series of carbon nanosphere (CNS)-supported PtNi bimetallic nanohybrids (PtNi/CNS), by immobilization of nearly monodispersed PtNi bimetallic nanoparticles at the surface of CNSs, for the highly selective and efficient H2 production from dimethylamineborane hydrolysis. Among them, the optional Pt0.7Ni0.3/CNS nanohybrid exhibits the highest turnover frequency of 16,607 h–1, which exceeded most reported catalytic systems, in the H2 generation from dimethylamineborane hydrolysis at 30 °C under 0.3 M NaOH due to the superior synergistic effect. The activation energy (Ea) of Pt0.7Ni0.3/CNS-catalyzed dimethylamineborane hydrolysis is calculated to be 31.1 kJ/mol. Interestingly, the large kinetic isotope effect of 2.76 with D2O verified that the breaking of a water O–H bond is the rate-controlling step of dimethylamineborane hydrolysis. This work presents a new, efficient, and durable Pt-based nanocatalyst for H2 production from dimethylamineborane hydrolysis.