Inducing efficient dehydrogenation of ammonia borane via regulating Rh sites by Cu incorporation in N-doped porous carbon scaffold

Considering the high cost and limited availability of Rh, optimizing the size and electronic properties of Rh nanoparticles to enhance catalytic activity in hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis (ABH) poses a significant challenge. In this study, Cu nanoparticles integrated with nitrogen-doped carbon (Cu-NxC-800), derived from the pyrolysis of dicyandiamide and cupric acetylacetonate, are utilized as effective platforms for synthesizing highly distributed and small-sized Rh nanoparticles with strong electronic metal-support interactions. This approach results in the development of high-performance Rh/Cu-NxC-800 featuring a porous layered structure. Characterization and experimental results indicate that Cu doping not only prevents the aggregation of Rh nanoparticles but also enhances the electronic metal-support interactions. This synergy facilitates the oxidative cleavage of the O-H bond in water, thereby improving the catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from ABH. The turnover frequency of Rh/Cu-NxC-800 for hydrogen production via ABH reaches 1014 min-1 in aqueous solutions, and the catalyst maintains favorable activity even after six consecutive ABH reactions. This study presents a novel approach for developing efficient nanostructured catalysts, highlighting a promising pathway for effective hydrogen evolution.