Efficient hydrogen production from ammonia borane hydrolysis catalyzed by P-doped-TiO2 supported CoCu catalysts

The efficiency of transition metal catalysts for ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis is frequently constrained by the kinetic barriers of water activation and strong intermediate binding. In this study, surface-confined P-doped TiO 2 catalysts loaded with CoCu alloy were synthesized via an in-situ chemical reduction strategy. The resulting Co 3 Cu/0.1P-TiO 2 -85 catalyst delivers a competitive turnover frequency (TOF) of 47.27   min -1 at 25 ℃ and a low activation energy of 38.65   kJ   mol -1 , surpassing most existing counterparts. Characterization results confirm the formation of CoCu alloys and the TiO 2 support significantly improves cyclic stability, while P-doping modifies the surface electronic structure to enhance water adsorption. Theoretical calculations further identify that the synergistic metal-support interactions between the P-doped TiO 2 and the alloy modulate the d-band center of the catalyst to an optimized level of -2.07   eV. This electronic reconfiguration concurrently enhances water adsorption capacity while mitigating the strong binding of AB, thereby significantly boosting the hydrolytic dehydrogenation performance. This work provides new ideas and insights for enhancing the hydrogen evolution performance of transition metal catalysts in the aqueous decomposition of AB.