Nanoalumina-supported rhodium(0) nanoparticles as catalyst in hydrogen generation from the methanolysis of ammonia borane

• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2017.06.016
• Publication Date: 2017-06-26T20:01:30Z
• Authors: Derya Özhava; Saim Özkar
• Keywords: Ammonia Borane; Nanomaterial-based catalyst; Boranes

Abstract Rhodium(0) nanoparticles were in situ formed from the reduction of rhodium(II) octanoate and supported on the surface of nanoalumina yielding Rh(0)/nanoAl 2 O 3 which is highly active catalyst in hydrogen generation from the methanolysis of ammonia borane at room temperature. The kinetics of nanoparticle formation can be followed just by monitoring the volume of hydrogen gas evolved from the methanolysis of ammonia borane. The evaluation of the kinetic data gives valuable insights to the slow, continuous nucleation and autocatalytic surface growth steps of the formation of rhodium(0) nanoparticles. Rh(0)/nanoAl 2 O 3 could be isolated and characterized by a combination of advanced analytical techniques including ATR-IR, PXRD, TEM, XPS, SEM, SEM-EDX and ICP-OES. The results reveal that rhodium(0) nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the surface of nanoalumina. The particle size of Rh(0)/nanoAl 2 O 3 increases with the initial rhodium loading of nanoalumina. Rh(0)/nanoAl 2 O 3 is highly active catalyst in hydrogen generation from the methanolysis of AB providing an exceptional initial turnover frequency of TOF = 218 min −1 at 25.0 ± 0.5 °C, which is the highest value ever reported for rhodium catalysts in hydrogen generation from the methanolysis of ammonia borane.