In-situ synthesis of Mo2C and enhancement of Co based catalyst for hydrogen production from ammonia borane hydrolysis

In order to study the synergistic effect between Mo2C and Co on the catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane to hydrogen, Co-30Mo2C/CNTs nanomaterial was prepared by a step impregnation method. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and their catalytic performance of ammonia borane hydrolysis was tested. The results showed that Co-30Mo2C/CNTs was successfully synthesized, Co and Mo2C were evenly dispersed around CNTs. Mo2C grew into rod-shaped structures locally, which could play a supporting role for the agglomerated CNTs, and hence the catalyst possessed more voids and exposed more active sites. The binding energies of Co and Mo in Co-30Mo2C/CNTs, 30Mo2C/CNTs and 10Co/CNTs were analyzed. It was found that there was partial electron transfer, which improved the catalytic activity of Co-30Mo2C/ CNTs. The hydrogen production rate of Co-30Mo2C/CNTs was the highest, reaching 11866mL/(g·min). This excellent catalytic activity can be attributed to the synergistic effect between Co and Mo2C. The addition of Mo2C enhanced the activation of H2O molecules. After five cycles of stability test, 75% of the activity were retained, which is of significance for the recyclability of non-precious metal catalysts. © 2023 Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.