A simple and straightforward strategy for synthesis of N,P co-doped porous carbon: an efficient support for Rh nanoparticles for dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and catalytic application

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) deposited on nitrogen (N)- and/or phosphorus (P)-doped porous carbon have been investigated as efficient catalysts for hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB). However, the one-pot synthesis of N,P co-doped porous carbon using low-cost and readily available sources is still a tremendous challenge. Herein, a novel one-pot methodology is developed to fabricate N and P co-doped porous carbon (ATP-C) using non-precious and easily available adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The process of N and P doping does not need additional N or P sources in the material. Moreover, the entire process did not require chemical activation agents, making it more practical for large-scale applications. The resulting ATP-C supported Rh NPs (Rh/ATP-C) exhibit excellent performance for the catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane toward hydrogen generation, with a total turnover frequency (TOF) value of 566 mol H₂ min⁻¹ (mol Rh)⁻¹ and activation energy (E_a) of 26.3 kJ mol⁻¹. The catalytic system has shown an outstanding catalytic cycle life during the recycling tests. This work provides a novel method for the production of high performance carbon material supported metal NP catalysts for practical dehydrogenation applications.