Noble-metal-free Co@Co2P/N-doped carbon nanotube polyhedron as an efficient catalyst for hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

Developing an efficient catalyst for hydrogen (H 2 ) generation from hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB) to significantly improve the activity for the hydrogen generation from AB is important for its practical application. Herein, we report a novel hybrid nanostructure composed of uniformly dispersed Co@Co 2 P core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in N-doped carbon nanotube polyhedron (Co@Co 2 P/N–CNP) through a carbonization-phosphidation strategy derived from ZIF-67. Benefiting from the electronic effect of P doping, high dispersibility and strong interfacial interaction between Co@Co 2 P and N-CNTs, the Co@Co 2 P/N–CNP catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance towards the hydrolysis of AB for hydrogen generation, affording a high TOF value of 18.4 mol H 2 mol metal −1 min −1 at the first cycle. This work provides a promising lead for the design of efficient heterogeneous catalysts towards convenient H 2 generation from hydrogen-rich substrates in the close future.