International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2021
Amine-functionalized carbon nanotubes supported NiAuPd nanoparticles as an efficient in-situ prepared catalyst for formic acid dehydrogenation
Abstract
Abstract Hydrogen (H2) generation from formic acid (FA) decomposition is a promising route in practical application of hydrogen energy. As a promising H2 supplier, besides the advantage of high H2 content and excellent stability, FA can also be used as a mild reducing agent. Herein, an in-situ prepared NiAuPd nanoparticles (NPs) supported on amine-functionalized carbon nanotubes (NiAuPd/NH2-CNTs) with FA as the reducing agent is successfully developed at room temperature. The as-prepared NiAuPd/NH2-CNTs are directly used for the catalytic decomposition of FA, exhibiting excellent activity and 100% H2 selectivity with the initial turnover frequency (TOFinitial) value of 699.1 and 3006.1\xa0mol H2 mol Pd-1 h-1 at 303 and 333\xa0K, respectively. Moreover, the additive sodium formate (SF) can further facilitate the reduction process and enhance the catalytic performance, with the TOFinitial value of 4391.1\xa0mol H2 mol Pd-1 h-1 at 333\xa0K, which are comparable to most of the reported heterogeneous catalysts with the complicated post-treatment. The excellent catalytic performance of NiAuPd/NH2-CNTs is mainly attributed to the high dispersion of NPs and the boost effect of -NH2 group on O–H cleavage. This work provides a feasible strategy to design in-situ prepared catalysts for the efficient high-quality H2 generation from FA for fuel cells application.