Co-vacancy rich Co3O4 catalyst enables efficient hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

Development of efficient and economical non-precious metal catalysts for dehydrogenation of ammonia borane is an important way to store and release hydrogen. Vacancy-engineered defective catalysts with modulated electronic structure allow ideal adsorption and dissociation of reactant molecules for the optimized catalytic activity. In this study, we report a facile synthesis of cobalt-defective Co 3 O 4 (V Co -Co 3 O 4 ) nanocatalyst by the calcination of layered cobalt glycerate as a key precursor. The stacked cobalt-oxygen sheets and interlayer bound glycerate anions in a layered structure are favorable for introducing cation vacancy during calcination process. The obtained V co -Co 3 O 4 exhibits outstanding catalytic activity for the hydrolysis of ammonia borane, along with a high hydrogen production rate of 934 mL min −1 g Cat -1 and a low activation energy of 32.65 kJ mol −1 . The catalytic performance of the V Co -Co 3 O 4 catalyst can be well maintained for consecutive five cycles. The current study establishes a new example of cation vacancy strategy to facilitate the hydrolysis of ammonia borane for hydrogen generation.