Controllable preparation of Co-based catalysts doped with Cu and Mo for boosting hydrogen evolution

Hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis is a promising way for utilization of clean energy. Development of efficient and stable non-noble catalysts for improvement of hydrogen generation rate is essential but still a challenge. Herein, the heterostructured Co-based catalysts were controllably designed by combining the synergistic effect with oxygen vacancy engineering to improve the hydrogen generation rate. CoCu ₁Mo ₃ -NC-O-15 exhibits the TOF value of 24.44 min ⁻¹ at 298 K with addition of 0.44 M NaOH, which is nearly 68 times that of Co-NC. The activation energy over CoCu ₁Mo ₃-NC-O-15 is 28.44 kJ mol ⁻¹. The CoCu ₁Mo ₃ -NC-O-15 catalyst presents the good stability in ammonia borane hydrolysis reaction due to the carbon-coated structure. The strong synergistic effect and oxygen vacancy are favorable to the adsorption and dissociation of NH ₃BH ₃ and H ₂ O molecules, leading to an astonishing improvement of catalytic activity. This study provides a novel way to design the heterostructured catalysts and a rational way to boost the dehydrogenation rate from AB.