A simple and straightforward strategy for synthesis of N,P co-doped porous carbon: An efficient support of Rh nanoparticles for dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and catalytic application

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) deposited on nitrogen (N)- and/or phosphous (P)-doped porous carbon have been investigated as efficient catalysts for hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB). However, the one-pot synthesis of N, P co-doped porous carbon using low-cost and readily available source is still a tremendous challenge. Herein, a novel one-pot methodology is developed to fabricate N and P co-doping porous carbon (ATP-C) using a non-precious and easily available adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The process of N and P doping without the need of additional N or P sources in the material. Moreover, the entire process did not require the chemical activation agents, making its more practical in large-scale applications. The resulting ATP-C supported Rh NPs (Rh/ATP-C) exhibits excellent performance for the catalytic hydrolysis of ammonia borane toward hydrogen generation, with a total turnover frequency (TOF) value of 566 mol H2 min-1 (mol Rh)-1 and activation energy (Ea) of 26.3 kJ mol-1. The catalytic system has shown an outstanding catalytic cycle life during the recycling tests. This work provides a novel way for the production of high performance carbon materials supported metal NPs catalysts in practical dehydrogenation application.