Nanosized Co- and Ni-Catalyzed ammonia borane for hydrogen storage

Abstract

A "co-precipitation" method was applied to introduce nanosized Co- and Ni-based catalysts to ammonia borane. It was observed that approximately 1 equiv. of hydrogen was evolved from the doped ammonia borane samples at a temperature as low as 59 °C. Moreover, the catalytic dehydrogenation did not present any induction period, undesirable byproduct borazine, or sample forming. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) characterization revealed that Co in a partially reduced state is the active species in the catalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane. © 2009 American Chemical Society.