One-pot synthesis of colloidally robust rhodium(0) nanoparticles and their catalytic activity in the dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane for chemical hydrogen storage.

Rhodium(0) nanoparticles stabilized by tert-butylammonium octanoate were prepared reproducibly from the reduction of rhodium(II) octanoate with tert-butylamine-borane in toluene at room temperature and characterized by ICP-OES, TEM, HRTEM, STEM, EDX, XRD, XPS, FTIR, UV-vis, (11)B, (13)C and (1)H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. These new rhodium(0) nanoparticles show unprecedented catalytic activity, lifetime and reusability as a heterogeneous catalyst in room temperature dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane, which is under significant investigation as a potential hydrogen storage material.