One-step synthesis of Cu@FeNi core–shell nanoparticles: Highly active catalyst for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.04.007
• Publication Date: 2012-05-08T16:17:31Z
• Authors: Hong-Li Wang; Jun-Min Yan; Zhi-Li Wang; Qing Jiang
• Keywords: Ammonia Borane; Bimetallic strip; Ammonia production

Abstract This paper investigates a facile and one-step synthesis of trimetallic magnetic Cu@FeNi core–shell nanoparticles, which are composed of crystalline Cu cores and amorphous FeNi shells, at room temperature under ambient atmosphere within 2 min. It is found that among the Cu@FeNi system, Cu 0.4 @Fe 0.1 Ni 0.5 shows the best synergistic performance for catalyzing the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane with the activation energy of 32.9 kJ/mol, being lower than most of the reported data, and the catalytic activity of Cu 0.4 @Fe 0.1 Ni 0.5 is much better than its monometallic, bimetallic and trimetallic counterparts whether in states of pure metals, alloys or physical mixtures. Further, the present catalyst has a good recycle stability with an easy magnetic separation method.