The effect of trichloroacetic acid molecule-derived carbon quantum dot-doped ru nanoclusters on ammonia borane dehydrogenation: Experimental and density functional tight binding model

Abstract

Developments in Ammonia borane (AB) dehydrogenation are parallel with the design of sustainable, inexpensive and high-activity catalysts. In this study, a useful and active catalyst was synthesized from Ru nanoparticles dispersed on CQD support materials obtained from trichloroacetic acid (TCA) via the hydrothermal method. Various characterization techniques (UV-PL, BET, XRD TEM and XPS) were used to explain the structure and the formation process of catalysis. In addition, the amounts of Ru loading, NaOH, catalyst and AB substrates were investigated to understand the efficiency of dehydrogenation. The stability and reusability of the synthesized Ru@CQD-TCA catalyst were tested. Here, it is observed that the catalyst is 100 % efficient after the 6th use. Moreover, its activity does not decrease much and there is no obvious agglomeration. The TOF value of the obtained Ru@CQD-TCA catalyst at 298 oK is determined as 193 (min-1) and It has a low activation energy with an energy of 39.26 kJ/mol. The stability of TCA-Ru-AB and undesirable Ru-Ru interactions are confirmed in molecular dynamics simulation. It was observed that CQD structures prepared under the interaction of small volume organic molecules with transition metals can exhibit high H2 production and high stability.