Metal-catalyzed hydrolysis of ammonia borane: Mechanism, catalysts, and challenges

Ammonia borane is a promising material for hydrogen storage. In particular, its metal-catalyzed hydrolysis, which can occur under mild conditions and release a high amount (7%–8%) of hydrogen, has attracted considerable recent attention. Most previous studies have sought to improve the hydrolysis rate, leading to a relatively asymmetric research trend, where some potential problems must be overcome before its industrialization. A comprehensive analysis and systematic overview of current research would therefore be helpful to future works. This review first discusses the hydrolysis of ammonia borane in detail. It then summarizes and analyzes recent development of metal catalysts. Some challenges related to the hydrolysis system are also discussed, and finally, some perspectives on emerging issues regarding the future development of this system are provided.