Hydrogen generation from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane using electrolessly deposited cobalt–phosphorus as reusable and cost-effective catalyst

•Co–P/TiO2 is efficient, reusable, and low-cost catalyst for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB.•The catalyst is reusable with minimal loss of activity for several cycles.•Arrhenius activation energy is found to be 48.1 ± 2 kJ mol−1.

The development of catalytically active, low-cost, and reusable catalysts is very vital for on-demand hydrogen generation systems for practical onboard applications. Titanium dioxide supported-cobalt–phosphorus (Co–P/TiO2) catalyst prepared by electroless deposition has been shown to effectively promote the release of hydrogen from the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane. The catalyst is very stable to be isolated as solid material and characterized by XRD, SEM-EDX, and XPS. It is redispersible and reusable as an active catalyst in the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. The activation energy (Ea) for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane catalyzed by Co–P/TiO2 catalyst is 48.1 ± 2 kJ mol−1. Maximum hydrogen generation rate in the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane catalyzed by Co–P/TiO2 catalyst is 2002 mL H2 min−1 (g catalyst)−1.

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