Synthesis of Cu@FeCo core–shell nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane

•The Cu@FeCo catalyst was in situ synthesized via a facile chemical reduction method.•The low cost Cu@FeCo catalyst contained non-noble Cu cores and Fe Co shells.•The max H2 generation rate of Cu0.3@Fe0.1Co0.6 was 6674.2 mL min−1 g−1 at 298 K.

Non-noble Cu@FeCo core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) containing Cu cores and FeCo shells have been successfully in situ synthesized via a facile chemical reduction method. The NPs exerted composition-dependent activities towards the catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB). Among them, the Cu0.3@Fe0.1Co0.6 NPs showed the best catalytic activity, with which the max hydrogen generation rate of AB can reach to 6674.2 mL min−1 g−1 at 298 K. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the hydrolysis of AB catalysed by Cu0.3@Fe0.1Co0.6 NPs was the first order with respect to the catalyst concentration. The activation energy (Ea) was calculated to be 38.75 kJ mol−1. Furthermore, the TOF value (mol of H2. (mol of catalyst. min)−1) of Cu0.3@Fe0.1Co0.6 NPs was 10.5, which was one of the best catalysts in the previous reports. The enhanced catalytic activity was largely attributed to the preferable synergistic effect of Cu, Fe and Co in the special core–shell structured NPs.