Integration of morphology and electronic structure modulation on cobalt phosphide nanosheets to boost photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from ammonia borane hydrolysis

The controllable and safe hydrogen storage technologies are widely recognized as the main bottleneck for the accomplishment of sustainable hydrogen energy.Ammonia borane(AB)has regarded as a competitive candidate for chemical hydrogen storage.However,developing efficient yet high-performance catalysts towards hydrogen evolution from AB hydrolysis remains an enormous challenge.Herein,cobalt phosphide nanosheets are synthesized by a facile salt-assisted along with low-temperature phosphidation strategy for simultaneously modulating its morphology and electronic structure,and function as hydrogen evolution photocatalysts.Impressively,the Co_(2)P nanosheets display extraordinary performance with a record high turnover frequency of 44.9 min^(-1),outperforming most of the noble-metal-free catalysts reported to date.This remarkable performance is attributed to its desired nanosheets structure,featuring with high specific surface area,abundant exposed active sites,and short charge diffusion paths.Our findings provide a novel strategy for regulating metal phosphides with desired phase structure and morphology for energy-related applications and beyond.

MXenes and heterostructures-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction:Recent developments and future outlook

The increasing focus on electrocatalysis for sustainable hydrogen(H_(2))production has prompted significant interest in MXenes,a class of two-dimensional(2D)materials comprising metal carbides,carbonitrides,and nitrides.These materials exhibit intriguing chemical and physical properties,including excellent electrical conductivity and a large surface area,making them attractive candidates for the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).This scientific review explores recent advancements in MXene-based electrocatalysts for HER kinetics.It discusses various compositions,functionalities,and explicit design principles while providing a comprehensive overview of synthesis methods,exceptional properties,and electro-catalytic approaches for H_(2) production via electrochemical reactions.Furthermore,challenges and future prospects in designing MXenes-based electrocatalysts with enhanced kinetics are highlighted,emphasizing the potential of incorporating different metals to expand the scope of electrochemical reactions.This review suggests possible efforts for developing advanced MXenes-based electrocatalysts,particularly for efficient H_(2) generation through electrochemical water-splitting reactions..

Application of Liquid Nitrogen Cold Trap for Purification of Hydrogen Gas Stream Generated from NaBH4

The feasibility of using liquid nitrogen cold trap （LNCT） for the removal of water vapour and alkaline mist from the hydrogen gas stream which is generated from the catalytic and acidic decomposition of sodium borohydride is investigated. Practically, the target application is mobile fuel cells based on hydrogen production from storage in chemical hydrides. The LNCT would be used as a one step purification method with less cost and space requirements instead of applying the conventional purification techniques. Two catalysts were investigated for the production of hydrogen from the aqueous solution of NaBH4 in a small scale packed bed reaction column. The hydrogen generated from the catalytic decomposition of NaBH4 was accompanied by limited quantity of water vapour and alkaline mist. Nonetheless, higher quantities were generated when applying the acidic decomposition of NaBH4 and consequently the utilization of LNCT for H2 purification has proved useful and lead to a reduction in the content of these impurities; thereby the concentration of hydrogen in the outlet stream has increased.

Boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution enabled by SiO_(2)-supporting chiral covalent organic frameworks with parallel stacking sequence

Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks(2D COFs)feature extendedπ-conjugation and ordered stacking sequence,showing great promise for high-performance photocatalysis.Periodic atomic frameworks of 2D COFs facilitate the in-plane photogenerated charge transfer,but the precise ordered alignment is limited due to the non-covalentπ-stacking of COF layers,accordingly hindering out-of-plane transfer kinetics.Herein,we address a chiral induction method to construct a parallelly superimposed stacking chiral COF ultrathin shell on the support of SiO_(2) microsphere.Compared to the achiral COF analogues,the chiral COF shell with the parallel AA-stacking structure is more conducive to enhance the built-in electric field and accumulates photogenerated electrons for the rapid migration,thereby affording superior photocatalytic performance in hydrogen evolution from water splitting.Taking the simplest ketoenamine-linked chiral COF as a shell of SiO_(2) particle,the resulting composite exhibits an impressive hydrogen evolution rate of 107.1 mmol g^(-1)h^(-1)along with the apparent quantum efficiency of 14.31% at 475 nm.Furthermore,the composite photocatalysts could be fabricated into a film device,displaying a remarkable photocatalytic performance of 178.0 mmol m^(-2)h^(-1)for hydrogen evolution.Our work underpins the surface engineering of organic photocatalysts and illustrates the significance of COF stacking structures in regulating electronic properties.

Hydrogen generation from NaBH_(4) for portable proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Sodium borohydride(NaBH_(4)) is considered as the most potential hydrogen storage material for portable proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFC)because of its high theoretical hydrogen capacity.However,the slow and poor kinetic stability of hydrogen generation from NaBH_(4) hydrolysis limits its application.There are two main factors influencing the kinetics stability of hydrogen generation from NaBH_(4).One factor is that the alkaline byproducts(NaBO_(2)) of the hydrolysis reaction can increase the pH of the solution,thus inhibiting the reaction process.It mainly happens in the NaBH_(4) solution hydrolysis system.Another factor is that the monotonous increase in reaction temperature leads to uncontrollable and unpredictable hydrolysis rates in the solid NaBH_(4) hydrolysis system.This is due to the excess heat generated from this exothermic reaction in the initial reaction of NaBH_(4) hydrolysis.In this perspective,we summarize the latest research progress in hydrogen generation from NaBH_(4) and emphasize the design principles of catalysts for hydrogen generation from NaBH_(4) solution and solid state NaBH_(4).The importance of carbon as catalyst support material for NaBH_(4) hydrolysis is also highlighted.

Strong hetero-interface interaction in 2D/2D WSe_(2)/ZnIn_(2)S_(4) heterostructures for highly-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Green hydrogen is urgently required for sustainable development of human beings and rational construction of heterostructures holds great promising for photocatalytic hydrogen generation.Herein,2D/2D WSe_(2)/ZnIn_(2)S_(4) heterostructures with strong hetero-interface interaction and abundant contact were constructed via an impregnation-annealing strategy.Efficient charge transfer from ZnIn_(2)S_(4) to WSe_(2)was evidenced by transient absorption spectroscopy in crafted heterostructures owing to the tight and2D face-to-face contact.As a result,the prepared WSe_(2)/ZnIn_(2)S_(4) heterostructures exhibited boosted photocatalytic performance and a highest hydrogen evolution rate of 3.377 mmol/(g h)was achieved with an apparent quantum yield of 45.7%at 420 nm.The work not only provides new strategies to achieve efficient 2D/2D heterostructures but also paves the way for the development of green hydrogen in the future.

Highly efficient Z-scheme WO_(3-x) quantum dots/TiO_2 for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Z-scheme semiconductors are a promising class of photocatalysts for hydrogen generation.In this work,Z-scheme semiconductors composed of WO3-x quantum dots supported on TiO2（WO3-xQDS/TiO2） were fabricated by solvothermal and hydrogen-reduction methods.Characterization by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated that the amount and size of the WO3-x QDs could be tuned by modulating the addition of the W precursor.Evidence from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy suggested that the hydrogen reduction of the composite induced the formation of oxygen vacancy（W^5＋/Vo） defects in WO3.These defects led to ohmic contact between WO3-x and TiO2,which altered the charge-transfer pathway from type Ⅱ heterojunction to Z-scheme,and maintained the highly reductive and oxidative ability of TiO2 and WO3-x,respectively.Therefore,the Z-scheme sample showed 1.3-fold higher photoactivity than pure TiO2 in hydrogen generation.These results suggest that the formation of W^5＋/Vo defects at the interface is highly beneficial for the fabrication of Z-scheme photocatalysts.

Hydrogen generation from coupling reactions of AlLi/NaBH_4 mixture in water activated by Ni powder

A novel composition of AlLi/NaBH4 mixture activated by common Ni powder in water for hydrogen generation was investigated. The composition presents good hydrogen generation performance and an optimized Al-10% Li-10% Ni/NaBH4 mixture （mass ratio of 3：1） generates 1540 mL/g hydrogen with 96% efficiency at 333 K. Ni powder exhibits dual catalytic effects on the hydrolysis of AlLi/NaBH4 mixture due to the formation of Ni2B in the hydrolysis process. The Ni2B deposited on aluminum surface could act as a cathode of a micro galvanic couple. Ni2B/Al（OH）3 also has a synergistic effect on NaBH4 hydrolysis. Good hydrogen generation performance with stable pH value of hydrolysis byproduct Al（OH）3/NaBO2-2H2O was obtained with successive additions of Al-Li-Ni /NaBH4 mixture into fixed water.

Design of Multiple Metal Doped Ni Based Catalyst for Hydrogen Generation from Bio-oil Reforming at Mild-temperature

A new kind of multiple metal （Cu, Mg, Ce） doped Ni based mixed oxide catalyst, synthesized by the co-precipitation method, was used for efficient production of hydrogen from bio-oil reforming at 250-500℃. Two reforming processes, the conventional steam reforming （CSR） and the electrochemical catalytic reforming （ECR）, were performed for the bio-oil reforming. The catalyst with an atomic mol ratio of Ni：Cu：Mg：Ce：AI=5.6：1.1：1.9：1.0：9.9 exhibited very high reforming activity both in CSR and ECR processes, reaching 82.8% hydrogen yield at 500℃ in the CSR, yield of 91.1% at 400℃ and 3.1 A in the ECR, respectively. The influences of reforming temperature and the current through the catalyst in the ECR were investigated. It was observed that the reforming and decomposition of the bio-oil were significantly enhanced by the current. The promoting effects of current on the decomposition and reforming processes of bio-oil were further studied by using the model compounds of bio- oil （acetic acid and ethanol） under 101 kPa or low pressure （0.1 Pa） through the time of flight analysis. The catalyst also shows high water gas shift activity in the range of 300-600 ℃. The catalyst features and alterations in the bio-oil reforming were characterized by the ICP, XRD, XPS and BET measurements. The mechanism of bio-oil reforming was discussed based on the study of the elemental reactions and catalyst characterizations. The research catalyst, potentially, may be a practical catalyst for high efficient production of hydrogen from reforming of bio-oil at mild-temperature.

Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation of mesoporous rutile TiO_2 single crystal with wholly exposed {111} facets

The development of semiconductor photocatalysts with highly reactive facets exposed has great potential to improve their photocatalytic reactivity. We report the synthesis of mesoporous rutile TiO 2 single crystals with tunable ratios of {110} and {111} facets through the seeded-template hydrothermal method. With increasing the amount of morphology controlling agent NaF,the facet ratio of {111} to {110} increases,and eventually the mesoporous rutile TiO 2 single crystals with wholly exposed {111} reactive facets are obtained. The resultant faceted mesoporous single crystals exhibit a superior photocatalytic performance of hydrogen evolution to mesoporous single crystals with a large percentage of thermodynamically stable {110} facets,as well as the solid rutile single crystals. ？ 2015,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Gold-containing metal nanoparticles for catalytic hydrogen generation from liquid chemical hydrides

Liquid chemical hydrides, which store hydrogen in the form of chemical bonds, are considered one of the most promising classes of hydrogen storage materials. Their application depends heavily on the development of efficient catalytic systems. Gold‐containing metal nanoparticles have exhibited excellent catalytic performance for hydrogen generation from liquid chemical hydrides. The present mini‐review focuses on recent developments in hydrogen generation from liquid chemical hydrides using gold‐nanoparticle and gold‐containing heterometallic nanoparticle catalysts.

Hydrogen generation from methanol reforming for fuel cell applications: A review

Methanol is regarded as an important liquid fuel for hydrogen storage, transportation, and in-situ generation due to its convenient conveyance, high energy density, and low conversion temperature. In this work, an overview of state-of-the-art investigations on methanol reforming is critically summarized, including the detailed introduction of methanol conversion pathways from the perspective of fuel cell applications, various advanced materials design for catalytic methanol conversion, as well as the development of steam methanol reformers. For the section of utilization pathways, reactions such as steam reforming of methanol, partial oxidation of methanol, oxidative steam reforming of methanol, and sorption-enhanced steam methanol reforming were elaborated;For the catalyst section, the strategies to enhance the catalytic activity and other comprehensive performances were summarized;For the reactor section, the newly designed steam methanol reformers were thoroughly described. This review will benefit researchers from both fundamental research and fuel cell applications in the field of catalyzing methanol to hydrogen.

Hydrogen generation from polyvinyl alcohol-contaminated wastewater by a process of supercritical water gasification

Gasification of polyvinyl alcohol （PVA）-contaminated wastewater in supercritical water （SCW） was investigated in a continuous flow reactor at 723-873 K, 20-36 MPa and residence time of 20-450 s. The gas and liquid products were analyzed by GC/TCD, and TOC analyzer. The main gas products were H2, CH4, CO and CO2. Pressure change had no significant influence on gasification efficiency. Higher temperature and longer residence time enhanced gasification efficiency, and lower temperature favored the production of H2. The effects of KOH catalyst on gas product composition were studied, and gasification efficiency were analyzed. The TOC removal efficiency （RTOC）, carbon gasification ratio （RCG） and hydrogen gasification ratio （RHG） were up to 96.00%, 95.92% and 126.40% at 873 K and 60 s, respectively, which suggests PVA can be completely gasified in SCW. The results indicate supercritical water gasification for hydrogen generation is a promising process for the treatment ofPVA wastewater.

FeOx Coating on Pd/C Catalyst by Atomic Layer Deposition Enhances the Catalytic Activity in Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid

Hydrogen generation from formic acid （FA） has received significant attention. The challenge is to obtain a highly active catalyst under mild conditions for practical applications. Here atomic layer deposition （ALD） of FeOx was performed to deposit an ultrathin oxide coating layer to a Pd/C catalyst, therein the FeOx coverage was precisely controlled by ALD cycles. Transmission electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction measurements suggest that the FeOx coating layer improved the thermal stability of Pd nanoparticles （NPs）. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement showed that deposition of FeOx on the Pd NPs caused a positive shift of Pd3d binding energy. In the FA dehydrogenation reaction, the ultrathin FeOx layer on the Pd/C could considerably improve the catalytic activity, and Pd/C coated with 8 cycles of FeOx showed an optimized activity with turnover frequency being about 2 times higher than the uncoated one. shape as a function of the number of FeOx ALD The improved activities were in a volcanocycles, indicating the coverage of FeOx is critical for the optimized activity. In summary, simultaneous improvements of activity and thermal stability of Pd/C catalyst by ultra-thin FeOx overlayer suggest to be an effective way to design active catalysts for the FA dehydrogenation reaction.

Synthesis of core-shell nanostructured Cr2O3/C@TiO2 for photocatalytic hydrogen production

In this study,the Cr2O3/C@TiO2 composite was synthesized via the calcination of yolk–shell MIL-101@TiO2.The composite presented core–shell structure,where Cr-doped TiO2 and Cr2O3/C were the shell and core,respectively.The introduction of Cr^3+and Cr2O3/C,which were derived from the calcination of MIL-101,in the composite enhanced its visible light absorbing ability and lowered the recombination rate of the photogenerated electrons and holes.The large surface area of the Cr2O3/C@TiO2 composite provided numerous active sites for the photoreduction reaction.Consequently,the photocatalytic performance of the composite for the production of H2 was better than that of pure TiO2.Under the irradiation of a 300 W Xe arc lamp,the H2 production rate of the Cr2O3/C@TiO2 composite that was calcined at 500°C was 446μmol h−1 g−1,which was approximately four times higher than that of pristine TiO2 nanoparticles.Moreover,the composite exhibited the high H2 production rate of 25.5μmol h−1 g−1 under visible light irradiation(λ>420 nm).The high photocatalytic performance of Cr2O3/C@TiO2 could be attributed to its wide visible light photoresponse range and efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes.This paper offers some insights into the design of a novel efficient photocatalyst for water-splitting applications.

Hydrogen generation from methanolysis of sodium borohydride over Co/Al_2O_3 catalyst

Co/Al2O3 catalyst is prepared with an impregnation-chemical reduction method and used to catalyze the methanolysis of sodium borohydride （NaBH 4） for hydrogen generation.At solution temperature of 0 C,the methanolysis reaction can be effectively accelerated using Co/Al2O3 catalyst and provide a desirable hydrogen generation rate,which makes it suitable for applications under the circumstance of low environmental temperature.The byproduct of methanolysis reaction is analyzed by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）.The characterization results indicate that methanol can be easily recovered after methanolysis reaction by hydrolysis of the methanolysis byproduct,NaB（OCH 3） 4.The catalytic activity of Co/Al2O3 towards NaBH 4 methanolysis can be further improved by appropriate calcination treatment.The catalytic methanolysis kinetics and catalyst reusability are also studied over the Co/Al2O3 catalyst calcined at the optimized temperature.

Surface interaction between Pd and nitrogen derived from hyperbranched polyamide towards highly effective formic acid dehydrogenation

Hydrogen production from formic acid decomposition(FAD)is a promising means of hydrogen energy storage and utilization in fuel cells.Development of efficient catalysts for dehydrogenation of formic acid is a challenging topic.The surface chemical and electronic structure of the active catalysis components is important in formic acid decomposition at room-temperature.Here,the pyrdinic-nitrogen doped catalysts from hyperbranched polyamide were prepared via in situ polymerization reaction process by using activated carbon as a support.Because of the introduction of the polymer,the particles of the catalysts were stabilized,and the average particle diameter was only 1.64 nm.Under mild conditions,the catalysts activities were evaluated for FAD.The optimized Pd-N30/C catalyst exhibited high performance achieving almost full conversion,with a turnover frequency of 3481 h^-1 at 30℃.

Co-CoO_x supported onto TiO_(2) coated with carbon as a catalyst for efficient and stable hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

Ammonia borane(AB) can be catalytically hydrolyzed to provide hydrogen at room temperature due to its high potentaial for hydrogen storage. Non-precious metal heterogeneous catalysts have broad application in the field of energy catalysis. In this article, catalysts precursor is obtained from Co-Ti-resorcinol-formaldehyde resin by sol–gel method. Co/TiO_(2)@N-C(CTC) catalyst is prepared by calcining the precursor under high temperature conditions in nitrogen atmosphere. Co-CoO_x/TiO_(2)@N-C(COTC) is generated by the controllable oxidation reaction of CTC. The catalyst can effectively promote the release of hydrogen during the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. High hydrogen generation at a specific rate of 5905 m L min^(-1) g_(Co)^(-1) is achieved at room temperature. The catalyst retains its 85% initial catalytic activity even for its fifth time use in AB hydrolysis. The synergistic effect among Co, Co_(3)O_(4) and TiO_(2) promotes the rate limiting step with dissociation and activation of water molecules by reducing its activation energy. The applied method in this study promotes the development of non-precious metals in catalysis for utilization in clean energy sources.

Defect engineering of ternary Cu-In-Se quantum dots for boosting photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

Heavy-metal-free ternary Cu–In–Se quantum dots(CISe QDs)are promising for solar fuel production because of their low toxicity,tunable band gap,and high light absorption coefficient.Although defects significantly affect the photophysical properties of QDs,the influence on photoelectrochemical hydrogen production is not well understood.Herein,we present the defect engineering of CISe QDs for efficient solar-energy conversion.Lewis acid–base reactions between metal halide–oleylamine complexes and oleylammonium selenocarbamate are modulated to achieve CISe QDs with the controlled amount of Cu vacancies without changing their morphology.Among them,CISe QDs with In/Cu=1.55 show the most outstanding photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation with excellent photocurrent density of up to 10.7 mA cm-2(at 0.6 VRHE),attributed to the suitable electronic band structures and enhanced carrier concentrations/lifetimes of the QDs.The proposed method,which can effectively control the defects in heavy-metal-free ternary QDs,offers a deeper understanding of the effects of the defects and provides a practical approach to enhance photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation.

Influence of chloride salts on hydrogen generation via hydrolysis of MgH_2 prepared by hydriding combustion synthesis and mechanical milling

The effects of chloride salts(NaCl,MgCl2and NH4Cl)on the hydrolysis kinetics of MgH2prepared by hydridingcombustion synthesis and mechanical milling(HCS+MM)were discussed.X-ray diffraction(XRD)analyses show that high-purityMgH2was successfully prepared by HCS.Hydrolysis performance test results indicate that the chloride salt added during the millingprocess is favorable to the initial reaction rate and hydrogen generation yield within60min.A MgH2?10%NH4Cl composite exhibitsthe best performance with the hydrogen generation yield of1311mL/g and a conversion rate of85.69%in60min at roomtemperature.It is suggested that the chloride salts not only play as grinding aids in the milling process,but also create fresh surface ofreactive materials,favoring the hydrolysis reaction.