A Deeper Understanding of H₂ Evolution Entirely from Water via Diborane Hydrolysis

Hydrogen (H 2 ) has drawn extensive attention due to its superior gravimetric capacity density and eco-friendly nature. Nowadays, hydrogen is mainly produced by the steam reforming of natural gas, a process that leads to massive emissions of greenhouse gases. Very recently, H 2 evolution upon hydrolysis of diboranes (e.g., B 2 (OH) 4 and B 2 pin 2 ) is promising because both H atoms of the released H 2 are obtained from water. This is different from the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride, dimethylaminoborane, ammonia borane, and tetramethyldisiloxane, where an H 2 is generated with only one H atom from H 2 O and the other one from hydrogen storage materials. Importantly, diborane hydrolysis in D 2 O could provide an easy and simple method for D 2 evolution. In this minireview, an overview of H 2 evolution upon diborane hydrolysis with an extraordinary emphasis on the recent developments in mechanism study and applications is presented. The future research emphasis and perspectives of H 2 evolution upon diborane hydrolysis have been suggested for commercialization as well.