In Situ Growth of Ultrafine PtPd Nanoparticles on Bifunctional NH₂-N-rGO with Remarkable Catalytic Activity for Ammonia Borane Dehydrogenation

The design of robust and highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis is of great importance to realize its application in energy storage. Herein, bimetallic ultrafine PtPd nanoparticles (NPs), supported on NH₂-functionalized and N-doped reduced grapheme oxide (NH₂-N-rGO), were prepared by a simple and effective method under mild condition. The introduction of the −NH₂−N group on rGO is the critical issue for the formation of the ultrafine and well-dispersed bimetallic PtPd NPs (1.9 nm) with relatively large surface area and enough active sites. These catalysts have excellent catalytic activities in the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB and their activity was composition dependent. Among these catalysts, the Pt_0.5Pd_0.5/NH₂-N-rGO composite catalysts exhibit the highest catalytic activity with an initial turnover frequency of 699.6 mol_(hydrogen)•mol_(catalyst)⁻¹•min⁻¹ for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of AB. This work offers a new way for the design and preparation of the bimetallic ultrafine nanocatalysts with excellent catalytic activities for AB hydrolysis.