Ni-BTC-derived CoP-NiCoP/NC microspheres as an efficient catalyst for NaBH4 hydrolysis.

The development of a low cost, high performance and stable catalyst is an important prerequisite for the widespread application of efficient hydrogen production from sodium borohydride (NaBH 4). Herein, Ni-BTC is derived into CoP-NiCoP/NC catalyst consisting of CoP-NiCoP nanorods and nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) microsphere by hydrothermal and gas-phase phosphorylation methods. The CoP-NiCoP/NC catalyst exhibits good catalytic activity, with a high hydrogen evolution rate of NaBH 4 reaching 7052 mL·min−1·g−1 at 303 K, and an activation energy of only 35.57 kJ·mol−1. This is significantly better than most catalysts reported previously. In addition, the CoP-NiCoP/NC catalyst demonstrates good durability with 75 % of the original catalytic activity after 10 performance testing. This excellent catalytic performance is achieved thanks to its porous microsphere structural design and the cooperative effect between CoP and NiCoP. This catalyst with high catalytic performance and mild preparation conditions is promising for future actual applications. • Novel CoP-NiCoP/NC catalyst was prepared by three-step simple methods. • The CoP-NiCoP/NC catalyst composed of CoP-NiCoP nanorods and nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) microspheres. • The synergistic catalysis of CoP and NiCoP effectively improved the catalytic activity. • The catalyst achieved excellent hydrogen production performance and lower Ea of 35.57 kJ·mol−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]