Boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon dots as a metal-free catalyst for hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride

Two-dimensional materials based on a ternary system of B, C and N with a synergistic coupling effect between heteroatoms are useful in applications ranging from electric devices to catalysis due to their unique electronic structure and thus catalytic activity. A facile bottom-up method using citric acid, boric acid, and dicyandiamide as the precursors has been developed to prepare boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon-based dots (CDs) through a simple hydrothermal reaction. The introduction of dopants to CDs has been confirmed through various characterization techniques. The as-obtained catalyst was subsequently used for the catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) with different amounts of catalysts and at different temperatures. The possible roles of nitrogen and boron dopants were suggested. Moreover, the applicability of the catalyst for hydrogen generation from several hydrogen sources such as formic acid, glycerol and hydrous hydrazine was also examined. This leads to an attractive nanocatalyst in pursuit of practical implementation of boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon-based dots as a hydrogen source for various applications.