Synthesis of a Novel Ag/Co–B/CTAB Catalyst via Chemical Reaction at Room Temperature for Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane

Co – B has outstanding catalytic activity in catalyzing the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB) to produce hydrogen and has been widely studied and applied. However, the high surface energy and magnetic properties of Co – B catalysts make the particles easily agglomerate and have few active sites. Herein, a novel compound Ag/Co – B/CTAB with high catalytic activity is prepared by chemical reduction. The compound Ag/Co – B/CTAB is characterized by Fourier-transform infrared, X-Ray diffraction, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, which show that Ag + in the compound Ag/Co – B/CTAB is reduced entirely to Ag acting as an atomic barrier to improve dispersion of Co – B due to a large specific surface area (168.8153 m 2 g −1 ). Moreover, the performance of Co – B doped with Ag in the hydrolysis of AB is studied and the compound Ag/Co – B/CTAB has a hydrogen generation rate of 17.685 L min −1 ·g −1 at 30 °C with a low activation energy of 13.33 kJ mol −1 . The work on the Ag/Co – B/CTAB catalyst provides an essential insight into developing efficient hydrogen-producing catalysts by regulating the electron transfer between metal and Co – B.