Metal nanoparticles immobilized on carbon nanodots as highly active catalysts for hydrogen generation from hydrazine in aqueous solution

Well-dispersed PtNi nanoparticles (NPs) grown on carbon nanodots (CNDs) derived from a metal-organic framework (ZIF-8) are synthesized by a simple reduction of metal precursors in the presence of CNDs, wherein the CNDs prove to be a powerful dispersion agent and distinct support for the PtNi NPs. The resultant PtNi-CND catalyst exerts almost 100-% H₂ selectivity and a high activity for the decomposition of hydrous hydrazine at room temperature. This excellent catalytic performance might be a result of the synergistic effect of the CND support and the PtNi NPs. The utilization of CNDs as a support to anchor the active component NPs and thus to facilitate the electron transfer and mass transport kinetics during the catalytic reaction process opens up new avenues to design high-performance catalysts. Dot dot dot: Highly dispersed bimetallic PtNi nanoparticles with different PtNi compositions have been immobilized on ZIF-8-derived carbon nanodots (CNDs). These materials show high catalytic activity and durability for hydrogen generation from the decomposition of hydrazine in aqueous solution at room temperature.