Graphitic carbon nitride-chitosan composites–anchored palladium nanoparticles as high-performance catalyst for ammonia borane hydrolysis

Abstract

The novel composites consisting of graphitic carbon nitride and chitosan (denoted as g-C3N4-CS) is synthesized for anchoring palladium nanoparticles. The results reveal that the resultant catalysts possess superior catalytic activity for ammonia borane (AB) hydrolysis. The corresponding turnover frequency reaches up to 27.7 molH2·mol−1Pd·min−1) at 30.0°C, and the activation energy is as low as 35.3 kJ mol−1. Kinetics study reveals that the hydrolysis reaction is 0.50 and 0.68 orders with AB concentration and palladium concentration, respectively. In addition, the catalytic activity of the resultant Pd(0)/g-C3N4-CS catalysts is stable even after 10 runs. The result will be helpful for the development of hydrogen generation and functional materials.