Progress in ammonia borane hydrogen release catalysts

Ammonium borane (AB) is a highly promising solid-state hydrogen storage material that has garnered increasing attention due to its environmentally friendly, non-toxic properties and high hydrogen content. However, the slow kinetics of AB hydrogen production technology limit its large-scale commercial application, necessitating the development of efficient AB hydrogen production catalysts to advance this technology. Here review two directions for catalyst development that aim to reduce costs while maintaining high catalytic activity: modified noble metal-based catalysts and non-noble metal catalysts. It then systematically introduces the mechanisms of hydrogen production via AB pyrolysis, hydrolysis, and alcoholysis. Subsequently, it provides a detailed analysis of the catalytic performance of different types of catalysts in both directions and examines the reasons behind improved performance. Finally, it summarises the challenges and future research directions in this field and proposes prospects for catalyst recovery and activity regeneration.