Bimetallic Ni-Pt nanocatalysts for selective decomposition of hydrazine in aqueous solution to hydrogen at room temperature for chemical hydrogen storage.

The design and development of alloy catalysts has been a focus of intense interest because suitable selection and control over the composition of alloy catalysts can result in greatly improved activity and selectivity, while it is unusual that the combination of two inactive metals gives a highly active catalyst. In this work, we found that Ni-Pt bimetallic nanocatalysts, with a platinum content as low as 7 mol %, prepared by the coreduction of the corresponding metal chlorides, exhibit excellent catalytic activity to the decomposition of hydrous hydrazine, producing hydrogen with a 100% selectivity at room temperature, whereas the corresponding single-component nickel and platinum counterparts are inactive for this reaction. These results provide new possibilities for searching heterometallic catalysts. The present catalyst with low noble-metal content promotes the practical use of the hydrogen-storage system based on the catalytic complete decomposition of hydrazine in aqueous solution at ambient conditions.