Highly Efficient Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Borane over Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt–Ni Bimetallic Catalyst

Abstract The bimetallic Pt–Ni nano-catalysts with different platinum to nickel mass ratios supported on the carbon nanotubes (PtNi( x  :  y )/FCNTs-D) were successfully synthesized by the polyol method and applied to the H 2 generation from ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis. Several state-of-the-art characterization methods were performed to explore the correlation between catalytic performance and the physicochemical characterizations of the catalysts. The results show that the optimum Pt : Ni ratio is critical to enhance the H 2 generation from AB hydrolysis and in this study, it is 1 : 2. The presence of carbon nanotubes enhanced the dispersion and stability of the Pt–Ni nanoparticles. The availability of more active sites and lowered binding energy of Pt 0 in PtNi(1 : 2)/FCNTs-D catalyst, lead to the increased catalytic activity of H 2 generation from AB hydrolysis.