A Solid-System Strategy for Controlled Hydrolytic Release of Hydrogen by Encapsulation of Ammonia Borane in Cobalt Decorated Halloysite Aerogel
Ang Mi, Luqi Guo, Yueru Yan, Dan Wang, Huishan Shang, Yafei Zhao, Bing Zhang
Abstract
Exploring the “on–off” control of hydrogen release remains a critical issue for efficiently on-demand utilization of hydrogen energy. In this work, a new hydrogen storage strategy of loading ammonia borane (AB) solid and metal catalyst Co in a halloysite nanotube aerogel (AB@Co/HNTA) is proposed for controlled hydrogen release from AB hydrolysis by controlling the added water. The results show that Co nanoparticles with a size of 3.07 nm are uniformly distributed on halloysite and HNTA surface, and AB can be packaged into HNTA to form a bulk solid composite. Controlled hydrogen generation is achieved in the AB@Co/HNTA solid system, which can be turned on and off by controlling the amount of water added to the aerogel. Further, the Co decorated HNTA (Co/HNTA) can be reused to encapsulate AB for the next run after AB complete hydrolysis. This work provides a new approach to control the release of hydrogen for application in the field of “on-board” device, and this solid-system strategy of controlled hydrolytic hydrogen release can be extended to any other porous material loaded with catalysts.