Ruthenium supported on nitrogen-doped porous carbon for catalytic hydrogen generation from NH3BH3 hydrolysis

In this paper, ruthenium supported on nitrogen-doped porous carbon (Ru/NPC) catalyst is synthesized by a simple method of in situ reduction using ammonia borane (AB) as reducing agent. The composition and structure of Ru/NPC catalyst are systematically characterized. This catalyst can efficiently catalyze the hydrolysis of AB. The hydrogen production reaction is completed within about 90 s at a temperature of 298 K and the maximum rate of hydrogen production is 3276 ml·s −1 ·g −1 with a reduced activation energy of 24.95 kJ·mol −1 . The turnover frequency (TOF) for hydrogen production is about 813 mol H2 ·mol Ru −1 ·min −1 . Moreover, this catalyst can be recycled with a well-maintained performance. After five cycles, the maximum rate of hydrogen generation is maintained at 2206 ml·s −1 ·g −1 , corresponding to 67.3% of the initial catalytic activity . Our results suggest that Ru/NPC prepared by in situ reduction is a highly efficient catalyst for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB.