Abstract
Abstract
Methanolysis of ammonia borane (AB) offers a promising approach to generating H
2
on demand under mild conditions, contingent on the availability of effective and economical catalysts. This research involved the fabrication of electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) nanofibrous membranes, which were then decorated with Ni–Pd bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) via an
in situ
chemical reduction approach, and the performance of these membranes in H
2
production from AB methanolysis was evaluated. Structural and morphological examinations verified the successful synthesis and uniform distribution of Ni–Pd NPs within the PVDF-HFP matrix. A range of Ni
1−
x
Pd
x
compositions was synthesized. The Ni–Pd–6@PVDF-HFP membrane demonstrated the greatest activity among all catalysts, achieving complete release of 3.0 mol H
2
per mol AB within 8 min at 298 K and yielding a maximum H
2
generation rate of 22.66 mol min
−1
g
−1
, which was over five times greater than that of monometallic Ni. Kinetic investigations revealed an apparent activation energy of 18.5 kJ mol
−1
, alongside an activation enthalpy of 15.9 kJ mol
−1
and a negative activation entropy (ΔS‡ = −62 J mol
−1
K
−1
), thereby suggesting a surface-controlled associative mechanism. Studies examining catalyst loading demonstrated a first-order dependence on the Ni–Pd–6 dose. Furthermore, the catalyst maintained 89 % of its initial activity following five successive cycles.