A one-pot synthesis of a highly dispersed palladium/polypyrrole/polyacrylonitrile nanofiber membrane and its recyclable catalysis in hydrogen generation from ammonia borane

Abstract

In this report, a palladium/polypyrrole/polyacrylonitrile (Pd/PPy/PAN) composite nanofiber membranes was synthesized by a one-pot redox polymerization process between pyrrole monomers and Na₂PdCl₄ in the presence of electrospun PAN nanofibers, without the introduction of any other surfactants or reductants. The as-prepared Pd/PPy/PAN nanofiber membrane exhibited good catalytic performance towards hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB). The apparent activation energy (E_a) was calculated to be about 33.5 kJ mol⁻¹. In addition, the Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were encapsulated in PPy layers on the surface of the PAN nanofibers, enabling the catalyst to be stable against poisoning and easily separated from the suspension system. The catalytic activity does not weaken after five cycles. This study indicated that the obtained Pd/PPy/PAN composite nanofiber membrane could be applied as an alternative in exploring new catalysts for hydrogen generation, as hydrogen is an important fuel as a clean power source.