Fast hydrogen evolution by formic acid decomposition over AuPd/TiO2-NC with enhanced stability

Well-dispersed AuPd nanoparticles were immobilized on TiO 2 -NC supports derived from NH 2 -MIL-125(Ti) and used as highly active, stable catalysts for hydrogen production from formic acid under mild conditions. The highest total turnover frequency , i.e., 3207 h −1 , for formic acid dehydrogenation was achieved with Au 2 Pd 8 /TiO 2 -NC-800 as the catalyst at 60 °C; this is 1.4 times that achieved with Au 2 Pd 8 /TiO 2 –C-800 under the same conditions. The excellent performance of the Au 2 Pd 8 /TiO 2 -NC-800 catalyst originates from the high anatase TiO 2 content, pyridinic N and oxygen vacancies in the support, the small size and alloying effect of the AuPd nanoparticles, and the metal–support synergistic effect . Doping the support with N improves the catalyst stability because N prevents metal particle aggregation to some extent. These results provide guidelines for the future development and applications of catalysts based on TiO 2 and metal–organic-framework-derived carbon-based materials.