Supported non-noble metal nanomaterials have attracted much interest due to their promising application prospects in heterogeneous catalysis. γ-Al2O3-supported Ni–Mo x C catalysts have been synthesized using an impregnation method, followed by the carburization at 993 K under a 5% H2/Ar flow. The synthesized NiMo x C/γ-Al2O3 catalysts are characterized and first tested in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) at 298 K. The X-ray photoelectron spectra analysis shows that the incorporation of Mo x C can enhance the dispersion of surface Ni and consequently improve the catalytic performance of NiMo x C/γ-Al2O3 in AB hydrolysis. The highest turnover frequency value of 75.1 min–1 toward the AB hydrolysis is obtained for 10Ni30Mo x C/γ-Al2O3 under the investigated reaction conditions. The kinetic studies of H2 evolution at a temperature range of 293–323 K determined an activation energy (E a) value of 33.12 kJ mol–1 over 10Ni30Mo x C/γ-Al2O3. Experimental results indicate that the synergistic effect of Ni and Mo2C is contributed to the high catalytic activity of 10Ni30Mo x C/γ-Al2O3. The obtained results in this work suggest that the hexagonal Mo2C can be a promising material in catalytic hydrogen generation from AB hydrolysis.

The chemical transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) not only reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere by humans, but also produces carbon compounds that can be used as precursors for chemical and fuel production. Herein, a selective catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol is achieved by a bifunctional molybdenum disulfide catalyst (MoS2) with magnesium oxide and nickel and potassium promoters. Molybdenum disulfide prepared by the supercritical ethanol method has a large specific surface area and presents good catalytic performance with high methanol selectivity when loaded with potassium (K) and nickel (Ni) promoters. In addition, the catalysts were evaluated and it was founded that the addition of the K-promoter improved methanol selectivity. This research provides a new strategy for improved product selectivity and space–time yield (STY) of methanol in CO2 hydrogenation.

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