Rhodium–nickel nanoparticles grown on graphene as highly efficient catalyst for complete decomposition of hydrous hydrazine at room temperature for chemical hydrogen storage

Abstract

Well-dispersed rhodium–nickel nanoparticles grown on graphene are successfully synthesized by co-reduction of graphene oxide and metal precursors, wherein graphene proved to be a powerful dispersion agent and distinct support for the RhNi nanoparticles. Unexpectedly, the resultant RhNi@graphene catalyst exerts 100% selectively and exceedingly high activity to complete the decomposition reaction of hydrous hydrazine at room temperature. This excellent catalytic performance might be due to the synergistic effect of the graphene support and the RhNi nanoparticles and the promotion effect of NaOH. The utilization of graphene as a novel two-dimensional catalyst support to anchor active component nanoparticles and thus to facilitate the electron transfer and mass transport kinetics during the catalytic reaction process opens up new avenues for designing next-generation catalysts.