Ternary metallic CuxCo1−xPtyO/RGO catalyst with internal synergistic effect for efficient hydrolysis of ammonia-borane

Highlights: • Cu_0.4Co_0.6Pt_0.0075O/RGO catalyst shows a very high TOF value (854.0 (H₂)mol/(Cat-Pt)mol·min) for the hydrolysis of AB. • In-situ XAS reveals that the metallic Pt in the catalyst is the real catalytic center. • The synergistic effect between different elements is investigated by XAS. Controlled release of hydrogen from ammonia borane (AB) using efficient and low-cost catalyst is still a big problem. In this work a hybrid material of Cu_xCo_1−xPt_yO catalyst immobilized on reduced graphene oxide (Cu_xCo_1−xPt_yO/RGO) was prepared for the hydrolysis of AB, which exhibited an extra-high TOF value of 854.0 (H₂)mol/(Cat-Pt)mol·min. In-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals that the metallic Pt in the catalyst is the real catalytic center in the hydrolysis reaction, while it will be a stable oxidized state of Pt in air. In the ternary metallic catalyst, Co mainly serves as an electron donor to form CoPt bonds and then modulate the electronic structure, while Cu can keep catalyst stable. RGO as an excellent support also plays an important role to facilitate the charge transfer and help for the particle dispersion. All the components in the ternary metallic catalyst show synergistic effect to enhance the catalytic performance.