Nanosizing ammonia borane with nickel - An all-solid and all-in-one approach for H2 generation by hydrolysis

Ammonia borane NH3BH3 (AB) and nickel (Ni) have been considered together as an all-solid and all-in-one material for H2 generation by hydrolysis at 20-50 °C. Our novel approach, denoted Ni/AB, consists of AB nanoparticles within a Ni matrix. Upon contact with water, Ni/AB readily hydrolyzes and liberates H2 with a turnover frequency of 13.8 mol(H2) molNi−1 min−1 at 43.3 °C. The apparent activation energy, determined over the temperature range 23.5-50.4 °C, is low, with 19.5 ± 4.1 kJ mol−1. These results imply that such a Ni matrix embedding AB acts as an effective catalyst. Beyond the catalytic performance, this is the first report of the successful utilization of an all-solid and all-in-one approach for the hydrolysis of AB, and the work brings unique perspectives for one-shot catalytic systems.