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Polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilized-Ru nanoclusters loaded onto reduced graphene oxide as high active catalyst for hydrogen evolution

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Abstract

Ruthenium/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (Ru/rGO NCs) were synthesized via an electrostatic self-assembly approach. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilized and positively charged metallic ruthenium nanoclusters about 1.2 nm were synthesized and uniformly loaded onto negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) sheets via strong electrostatic interactions. The as-prepared Ru/rGO NCs exhibited superior performance in catalytic hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to generate H2. The hydrogen generation rate was up to 14.87 L H2 min−1 gcat −1 at 318 K with relatively low activation energy of 38.12 kJ mol−1. Kinetics study confirmed that the hydrolysis of NaBH4 was first order with respect to concentration of catalysts. Besides, the conversion of NaBH4 remained at 97% and catalytic activity retained more than 70% after 5 reaction cycles at room temperature. These results suggested that the Ru/rGO NCs have a promising prospect in the field of clean energy.

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Acknowledgements

Financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 21543011, 21273205, 21401168) and the Education Department of Henan Province (16IRTSTHN0011) are acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, People’s Republic of China

    Jiao Zhang, Qianli Ma, Chuanqi Li, Yushan Liu, Baojun Li & Zhongyi Liu

  2. Department of Quality Examination and Management, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou, 450011, People’s Republic of China

    Jinghao Hao

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  1. Jiao Zhang
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  2. Jinghao Hao
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  3. Qianli Ma
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  4. Chuanqi Li
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  5. Yushan Liu
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  6. Baojun Li
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  7. Zhongyi Liu
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Correspondence to Baojun Li or Zhongyi Liu.

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Zhang, J., Hao, J., Ma, Q. et al. Polyvinylpyrrolidone stabilized-Ru nanoclusters loaded onto reduced graphene oxide as high active catalyst for hydrogen evolution. J Nanopart Res 19, 227 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-017-3924-5

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