The Cu3P@CuO nanosheet catalyst is used for the efficient hydrolysis of ammonia borane to produce hydrogen

Ammonia borane (AB), as an excellent hydrogen storage material with low molecular weight and high hydrogen content, to fully unleash its value, the development of low-cost and highly active catalysts for AB hydrolysis hydrogen production is precisely the core path to promote the industrialization of AB hydrolysis hydrogen production technology. This paper uses anhydrous copper chloride as raw material, and prepares copper oxide nanosheets (CuO NS) precursor by solvothermal method under alkaline conditions. Through low-temperature phosphating method, CuO NS are converted into Cu3P@CuO nanosheets (Cu3P@CuO NS). The microstructure and structural composition of Cu3P@CuO NS were characterized by SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD and XPS. The effects of as-prepared Cu3P@CuO NS for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from AB hydrolysis were investigated. Additionally, the hydrogen evolution rate and turnover frequency (TOF value) of Cu3P@CuO NS catalyzed AB hydrolysis were explored under different reaction conditions. The results show that when the phosphating ratio is adjusted to m(CuO NS) / m(NaH2PO2) = 1 (m (CuO NS)= m（NaH2PO2）=0.1 g), Cu3P@CuO NS exhibit the optimal catalytic activity for AB hydrolysis. Cu3P@CuO NS exhibited a high turnover frequency (TOF), with a TOF value as high as 57.23 min-1 and an apparent activation energy of 44.31 kJ/mol. The hydrolysis of AB follows pseudo-first-order kinetics with respect to the catalyst dosage, while it exhibits pseudo-zero-order kinetics with respect to the AB dosage. The excellent performance exhibited by Cu3P@CuO NS can be attributed to the abundant active sites exposed by their nanosheet structure. Given the remarkably low cost of this catalyst, the Cu3P@CuO NS catalyst is highly anticipated to serve as a viable substitute for noble metal catalysts. It is poised to emerge as an ideal catalytic material for the hydrogen evolution reaction from AB, leveraging its cost-effectiveness and catalytic efficiency to address the challenges associated with high-cost noble metal-based systems.