Aluminum fluoride induced PdAu nanoparticles on layered g-C3N4 nanosheets for efficient dehydrogenation of formic acid at room temperature

We first develop the aluminum fluoride-induction strategy to construct PdAu nanoparticles combined with layered g-C3N4 nanosheets (g-CNNS) by two-dimensional (2D) template approach. During the calcination process, g-CNNS are formed in the interlayer space of layered clay montmorillonite (MMT) template using melamine as precursor. After removing the MMT template by hydrofluoric acid, well-defined g-CNNS are obtained, accompanied by the formation of aluminum fluoride. Under the presence and induction of aluminum fluoride, PdAu alloy nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed on the surface of g-CNNS through the simple reduction process. Well-defined catalyst (PdAu/g-CNNS-AlF3) exhibits high catalytic performance for the decomposition of formic acid to hydrogen at room temperature, such as high catalytic activity (TOF: 2716 h−1) and high hydrogen selectivity (100%). These excellent catalytic activities are ascribed to the high specific surface area, unique 2D nanosheets architecture, and uniformly dispersed PdAu nanoparticles. This AlF3-induced strategy combined with 2D-template approach provides a new idea for the design of highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts.