Synergistic interface between metal Cu nanoparticles and CoO for highly efficient hydrogen production from ammonia borane

The development of efficient non-noble metal catalysts for the dehydrogenation of hydrogen (H(2)) storage materials is highly desirable to enable the global production and storage of H(2) energy. In this study, Cu(x)–(CoO)(1−x)/TiO(2) catalysts with a Cu–CoO interface supported on TiO(2) are shown to exhibit high catalytic efficiency for ammonia borane (NH(3)BH(3)) hydrolysis to generate H(2). The best catalytic activity was observed for a catalyst with a Cu : Co molar ratio of 1 : 1. The highest dehydrogenation turnover frequency (TOF) of 104.0 mol(H(2)) mol(metal)(−1) min(−1) was observed in 0.2 M NaOH at room temperature, surpassing most of the TOFs reported for non-noble catalysts for NH(3)BH(3) hydrolysis. Detailed characterisation of the catalysts revealed electronic interactions at the Cu–CoO heterostructured interface of the catalysts. This interface provides bifunctional synergetic sites for H(2) generation, where activation and adsorption of NH(3)BH(3) and H(2)O are accelerated on the surface of Cu and CoO, respectively. This study details an effective method of rationally designing non-noble metal catalysts for H(2) generation via a metal and transition-metal oxide interface.