Thermo-responsive catalysts based on bimetallic alloyed Pt-Pd supported on mesoporous silica: Controllable hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

The ultrafine and highly dispersed bimetallic Pt-Pd nanoparticles are successfully anchored on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN). The MSN@Pt-Pd catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance in the hydrogen from ammonia borane (AB). When the MSN@Pt-Pd nanoparticles were grafted with luminescent material and smart thermo-responsive polymer, a smart catalyst could be fabricated. The smart catalyst exhibits the thermo-responsive catalytic performance and switchable luminescence. For example, the composite catalyst displays high catalytic activity in hydrolysis of AB at 25 °C. However, it shows much lower catalytic activity when the temperature increases to 35 °C. The smart catalysts could be potentially applied in the self-protection device of dehydrogenation . When the system of dehydrogenation is under high temperature environment, the smart composite catalyst could automatically restrain the production of H 2 for the purpose of safety.