Ruthenium(0) nanoparticles stabilized by metal-organic framework as an efficient electrocatalyst for borohydride oxidation reaction

Abstract

Described herein is a new catalytic material comprising Fe-BTC (Basolite F-300) metal-organic framework stabilized ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru@Fe-BTC) and its notable catalytic activity for the borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR). Ru@Fe-BTC catalyst was reproducibly prepared by gas-phase infiltration of Ru (cod) (cot) (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene and cot = 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene) precursor followed by hydrogenolysis of the inclusion compound Ru (cod) (cot)@Fe-BTC to form the Ru@Fe-BTC. The resulting catalytic material was characterized by using multi-pronged techniques and the sum of their results revealed the formation of well-dispersed, highly crystalline, and small-sized ruthenium nanoparticles (3.9 nm) within the framework of Fe-BTC by preserving its crystalline structure. Cyclic and linear scan voltammetry as well as chronoamperometry techniques were used to assess the catalytic activity and stability of Ru@Fe-BTC for BOR in strongly alkaline medium at different temperatures (25–65 °C) and sodium borohydride concentrations (0.01–0.12 M). The charge transfer coefficient was determined to be 0.85 and BOR at Ru@Fe-BTC was found to be a nearly first-order reaction, with the activation energy amounting to 17 kJ mol−1. A small-scale direct borohydride/peroxide fuel cell that was assembled using Ru@Fe-BTC as an anodic catalyst delivered a maximum power density of 169 mW cm−2 at 65 °C.