Concurrent Anchoring of Au NPs and Amine Groups under the Decomposition of supported L‐arginine‐Au(III) Complexes:A Simple Way to Active Au/C Catalyst for Pure Hydrogen Production

AbstractWe propose a simple way to synthesize gold catalysts consisting of dominant ca. 2 nm nanoparticles and single atoms on different carbons by the use of L‐arginine‐Au(III) complexes. The decomposition of the precursor proceeds via concurrent anchoring surface amine groups and forming gold species. The gold catalyst supported on a commercial nitrogen free carbon of the Sibunit family showed excellent activity in the gas phase formic acid decomposition reaction and 100 % selectivity towards hydrogen formation as compared to gold catalysts supported on nitrogen free and nitrogen doped carbon nanofibers and nanotubes. The observed increase in the reaction rate by a factor of up to 15 is due to the enrichment of external Sibunit surface with gold and surface amine groups. The intrinsic nitrogen centers of the nitrogen doped carbons are not sensitive to the gold precursor, thus not affecting the dispersion of gold and even deteriorating the catalyst activity.