Metal Nanoparticles Immobilized on Carbon Nanodots as Highly Active Catalysts for Hydrogen Generation from Hydrazine in Aqueous Solution

Well-dispersed PtNi nanoparticles (NPs) grown on carbon nanodots (CNDs) derived from a metal-organic framework (ZIF-8) are synthesized by a simple reduction of metal precursors in the presence of CNDs, wherein the CNDs prove to be a powerful dispersion agent and distinct support for the PtNi NPs. The resultant PtNi-CND catalyst exerts almost 100% H-2 selectivity and a high activity for the decomposition of hydrous hydrazine at room temperature. This excellent catalytic performance might be a result of the synergistic effect of the CND support and the PtNi NPs. The utilization of CNDs as a support to anchor the active component NPs and thus to facilitate the electron transfer and mass transport kinetics during the catalytic reaction process opens up new avenues to design high-performance catalysts.