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.

Energy Environ. Sci., 2015,8, 3204-3207
DOI: 10.1039/C5EE02506K

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/ee/c5ee02506k#divAbstract

中文报道：http://paper.sciencenet.cn/htmlpaper/201512101051764537895.shtm