Cobalt ferrite supported platinum nanoparticles: Superb catalytic activity and outstanding reusability in hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane

In this work, platinum(0) nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of magnetic cobalt ferrite forming magnetically separable Pt-0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, which are efficient catalysts in H-2 generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane. Catalytic activity of Pt-0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles decreases with the increasing platinum loading, parallel to the average particle size. Pt-0/CoFe2O4 (0.23% wt. Pt) nanoparticles have an average diameter of 2.30 +/- 0.47 nm and show an extraordinary turnover frequency of 3628 min(-1) in releasing 3.0 equivalent H-2 per mole of ammonia borane from the hydrolysis at 25.0 degrees C. Moreover, the magnetically separable Pt-0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles possess high reusability retaining 100% of their initial catalytic activity even after ten runs of hydrolysis. The superb catalytic activity and outstanding reusability make the Pt-0/CoFe2O4 nanoparticles very attractive catalysts for the hydrogen generation systems in portable and stationary fuel cell applications. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.