Highly Efficient Nanocatalyst Ni₁Co₉@graphene in Dehydrogen Process from Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis

Bimetal materials derived from transition metals can be good catalysts in some reactions. When supporting on graphene (GP), those catalysts have a remarkable performance in hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. To obtain such catalysts easily and efficiently, herein, a simple thermal reduction strategy has been used to prepare NixCo10-x series bimetal catalysts. Among all of these catalysts, Ni1Co9 is the best catalysts in catalytic performance. The turnover frequency (TOF) related to the total atoms number within the bimetallic nanoparticles reaches 603.82 mLH2·mmolbimetal-1·min-1 at 303 K. Furthermore, graphene is introduced as supporting frame. In additon, Ni1Co9@Graphene (Ni1Co9@GP) makes a large surface area and high TOF, 25534 mLH2·mmolbimetal-1·min-1 at 303 K. The Ni1Co9@GP exhibits efficiently catalytic properties for H2 generation in an alkaline solution because of their high specific surface area. Kinetic studies a high kinetic isotope effect disclosed using D2O lead to the suggestion of an oxidative addition of a O-H bond of water in the rate-determining step.