PtAuCo Trimetallic Nanoalloys as Highly Efficient Catalysts toward Dehydrogenation of Ammonia Borane

In this paper, we successfully achieved PtAuCo trimetallic nanoalloys with a single phase structure using a sequential digestive-reduction strategy. The as-prepared PtAuCo trimetallic nanoalloys exhibit composition-dependent catalytic performance toward catalytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (NH3BH3; AB) with the Pt76Au12Co12 nanoalloy as the optimized one. The turnover frequency (TOF) value of the Pt76Au12Co12 nanocatalyst is as high as 450 (mol H-2 min(-1) (mol metal)(-1)) at room temperature, which is higher than most of the reported noble-metal-based catalysts. Kinetic studies demonstrate that the catalytic hydrolysis of AB with Pt76Au12Co12 as the catalyst is of first-order with an activation energy as low as 18.47 kJ mol(-1). On the basis of the XPS and ICP measurement, the modified electronic interaction is believed to play the key role for the optimized catalytic activity of the Pt76Au12Co12 nanoalloy.