Constructing Ru particles decorated Co3B-CoP heterostructures as a highly active and reusable catalyst for H2 generation by catalyzing NaBH4 hydrolysis

Constructing an efficient and reusable catalyst for catalyzing NaBH4 hydrolysis for H-2 production is of vital significance. Herein, the Ru particles decorated Co3B-CoP heterostructures are obtained by chemical reduction and gas-phase phosphating treatment. The strong electronic interaction and abundant heterojunctions between the Co3B-CoP substrate and Ru particles have been elucidated. The optimal Ru-0.063/Co3B-CoP catalyst exhibits a fast hydrogen generation rate (8875.8 mL min(-1) g(cat)(- 1)) and a high turnover frequency (636.0 min(-1)) at 25 ?, superior to most ever reported catalysts. The excellent NaBH4 hydrolysis performance can be attributed to the lower activation energy (47.6 kJ mol(-1)) and the synergy between Co3B-CoP substrate and Ru particles. Density functional theory calculations show that electrons penetrate into Ru particles from Co3B-CoP substrate, in which the electron-rich Ru particles can selectively adsorb BH4- ions, while the electron-deficient Co3B-CoP facilitates the capture of H2O molecules, thereby synergistically promote the catalyzing NaBH4 hydrolysis to produce H-2.