Pd nanoparticles immobilized on aniline-functionalized MXene as an effective catalyst for hydrogen production from formic acid

Abstract A simple wet chemical method was used to prepare two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXene); PDA-MXene was prepared by alkalization of p-phenylenediamine (PDA) on MXene. And further, Pd metal nanoparticles (NPs) were conveniently loaded on the surface to catalyze the dehydrogenation of formic acid. The as-prepared Pd/PDA-MXene catalyst for the formic acid dehydrogenation was characterized by XRD, IR, TEM, and XPS. Pd-NPs with a size of about 4 nm were formed upon the PDA-MXene support surface and were well dispersed. The Pd/PDA-MXene exhibited good catalytic activity in the formic acid decomposition process without any additives, and the turnover frequency value at 50 °C was 924.4 h−1, which is comparable to most of the reported noble metal catalysts under similar conditions. It is worth mentioning that the prepared catalyst maintained good catalytic activity in five consecutive catalytic cycles of the formic acid dehydrogenation experiment.