A Schiff base modified gold catalyst for green and efficient H2 production from formic acid

Abstract

Formic acid (FA) dehydrogenation is an atom-economic method for H₂ production, while diluted FA with extra additives is generally required in heterogeneous dehydrogenation of FA. Here, we report a novel Schiff base functionalized gold catalyst, which showed excellent catalytic performances for H₂ production in catalytic dehydrogenation of high-concentration FA without any additives. The record turnover frequency (TOF) was as high as 4368 h⁻¹ in 10 M FA solutions, and was up to 2882 h⁻¹ even in 99% FA at a mild temperature of 50 °C. According to characterization results, a synergetic mechanism for C–H activation between the protonated Schiff base and electronegative gold nanoparticles (NPs) at the interface was suggested to be responsible for its unusual catalytic activity toward H₂ production from FA.