Boosting the Catalytic Performance of NiMoO₄ Nanorods in H₂ Generation upon NH₃BH₃ Hydrolysis via a Reduction Process

Although a range of noble metal catalysts, including Ru, Rh, Pd, Pt, and Au, have been developed for efficient H₂ generation upon NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis at room temperature, this is a highly urgent need for exploring earth-abundant metal nanocatalysts for H₂ generation upon NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis. Herein, a NaBH₄ reduction strategy was developed to boost the catalytic performance of NiMoO₄ nanorods in H₂ generation upon NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis. Indeed, the pristine NiMoO₄ nanorods were catalytically inert in NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis. Significantly, the reduced NiMoO₄ nanorods presented excellent catalytic activity in H₂ generation upon NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 31.2 L(H₂)·g_cat^-1·h^-1. Interestingly, the TOF of NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis over reduced NiMoO₄ nanorods significantly increased from 31.2 to 53.6 L(H₂)·g_cat^-1·h^-1 under 0.3 M NaOH. The boosting catalytic performance of NiMoO₄ nanorods via NaBH₄ reduction in H₂ generation might be attributed to the higher content of O_ads and the formation of nickel boride in the reduced NiMoO₄ nanorods. In this work, NH₃BH₃ hydrolysis over reduced NiMoO₄ nanorods was not only used for safe H₂ generation but also for its in situ tandem hydrogenation in organic chemistry.