Functions of MgH(2) in hydrogen storage reactions of the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) reactive hydride composite

A significant improvement of hydrogen storage properties was achieved by introducing MgH(2) into the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) system. It was found that ～8.0 wt% of hydrogen could be reversibly stored in a 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2)-3MgH(2) composite below 400 °C and 100 bar of hydrogen pressure with a stepwise reaction, which is superior to the pristine 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) and LiBH(4) samples. Upon dehydriding, MgH(2) first decomposed to convert to Mg and liberate hydrogen with an on-set temperature of ～290 °C. Subsequently, LiBH(4) reacted with CaH(2) to form CaB(6) and LiH in addition to further hydrogen release. Hydrogen desorption from the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2)-3MgH(2) composite finished at ～430 °C in non-isothermal model, a 160 °C reduction relative to the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) sample. JMA analyses revealed that hydrogen desorption was a diffusion-controlled reaction rather than an interface reaction-controlled process. The newly produced Mg of the first-step dehydrogenation possibly acts as the heterogeneous nucleation center of the resultant products of the second-step dehydrogenation, which diminishes the energy barrier and facilitates nucleation and growth, consequently reducing the operating temperature and improving the kinetics of hydrogen storage.     

Stability and reversibility of LiBH4

LiBH4 is a complex hydride and exhibits a high gravimetric hydrogen density of 18.5 wt %. Therefore it is a promising hydrogen storage material for mobile applications. The stability of LiBH4 was investigated by pcT (pressure, concentration, and temperature) measurements under constant hydrogen flows and extrapolated to equilibrium. According to the van 't Hoff equation the following thermodynamic parameters are determined for the desorption: enthalpy of reaction DeltarH = 74 kJ mol-1 H2 and entropy of reaction DeltarS = 115 J K-1 mol-1 H2. LiBH4 decomposes to LiH + B + 3/2H2 and can theoretically release 13.9 wt % hydrogen for this reaction. It is shown that the reaction can be reversed at a temperature of 600 degrees C and at a pressure of 155 bar. The formation of LiBH4 was confirmed by XRD (X-ray diffraction). In the rehydrided material 8.3 wt % hydrogen was desorbed in a TPD (temperature-programmed desorption) measurement compared to 10.9 wt % desorbed in the first dehydrogenation.     

Body centered cubic magnesium niobium hydride with facile room temperature absorption and four weight percent reversible capacity

We have synthesized a new metastable metal hydride with promising hydrogen storage properties. Body centered cubic (bcc) magnesium niobium hydride (Mg(0.75)Nb(0.25))H(2) possesses 4.5 wt% hydrogen gravimetric density, with 4 wt% being reversible. Volumetric hydrogen absorption measurements yield an enthalpy of hydride formation of -53 kJ mol(-1) H(2), which indicates a significant thermodynamic destabilization relative to the baseline -77 kJ mol(-1) H(2) for rutile MgH(2). The hydrogenation cycling kinetics are remarkable. At room temperature and 1 bar hydrogen it takes 30 minutes to absorb a 1.5 μm thick film at sorption cycle 1, and 1 minute at cycle 5. Reversible desorption is achieved in about 60 minutes at 175 °C. Using ab initio calculations we have examined the thermodynamic stability of metallic alloys with hexagonal close packed (hcp) versus bcc crystal structure. Moreover we have analyzed the formation energies of the alloy hydrides that are bcc, rutile or fluorite.     

氢气在碳纳米管基材料上的吸附-脱附特性

利用高压容积法测定多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)及钾盐修饰的相应体系(K＋-MWCNTs)的储氢容量,并用程序升温脱附(TPD)方法表征研究氢气在MWCNTs基材料上的吸附-脱附特性.结果表明,在经纯化MWCNTs上,室温、9.0 MPa实验条件下氢的储量可达1.51％（质量分数）;K＋盐对MWCNTs的修饰对增加其储氢容量并无促进效应,但相应化学吸附氢物种的脱附温度有所升高;K＋的修饰也改变了MWCNTs表面原有的疏水性质.在低于723 K的温度下,H2/MWCNTs体系的脱附产物几乎全为氢气;773 K以上高温脱附产物不仅含H2,也含有CH4、C2H4、C2H2等C1/C2烃混合物;H2/K＋-MWCNTs储氢试样的脱附产物除占主体量的H2及少量C1/C2烃混合物外,还含水汽,其量与吸附质H2源水汽含量密切相关.H2在碳纳米管基材料上吸附兼具非解离 (即分子态) 和解离(即原子态)两种形式.     

Remarkable hydrogen storage properties for nanocrystalline MgH2 synthesised by the hydrogenolysis of Grignard reagents

The possibility of generating MgH(2) nanoparticles from Grignard reagents was investigated. To this aim, five Grignard compounds, i.e. di-n-butylmagnesium, tert-butylmagnesium chloride, allylmagnesium bromide, m-tolylmagnesium chloride, and methylmagnesium bromide were selected for the potential inductive effect of their hydrocarbon group in leading to various magnesium nanostructures at low temperatures. The thermolysis of these Grignard reagents was characterised in order to determine the optimal conditions for the formation of MgH(2). In particular, the use of di-n-butylmagnesium was found to lead to self-assembled and stabilized nanocrystalline MgH(2) structures with an impressive hydrogen storage capacity, i.e. 6.8 mass%, and remarkable hydrogen kinetics far superior to that of milled or nanoconfined magnesium. Hence, it was possible to achieve hydrogen desorption without any catalyst at 250 °C in less than 2 h, while at 300 °C, hydrogen desorption took only 15 min. These superior performances are believed to result from the unique physical properties of the MgH(2) nanocrystalline architecture obtained after hydrogenolysis of di-n-butylmagnesium.     

Improvement of hydrogen desorption kinetics in the LiH-NH3 system by addition of KH

It was found that, when a little amount of KH (5 mol%) was added in the LiH-NH(3) hydrogen storage system, the hydrogen desorption kinetics of this system at 100 °C was drastically improved by the KH "pseudo-catalytic" effect.     

In situ hybridization of LiNH2-LiH-Mg(BH4)2 nano-composites: intermediate and optimized hydrogenation properties

Nano-composites of LiNH(2)-LiH-xMg(BH(4))(2) (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) were prepared by plasma metal reaction followed by a nucleation growth method. Highly reactive LiNH(2)-LiH hollow nanoparticles offered a favorable nucleus during a precipitation process of liquid Mg(BH(4))(2)·OEt(2). The electron microscopy results suggested that more than 90% of the obtained nano-composites were in the range 200-400 nm. Because of the short diffusion distance and ternary mixture self-catalyzing effect, this material possesses enhanced hydrogen (de)sorption attributes, including facile low-temperature kinetics, impure gases attenuation and partial reversibility. The optimal hydrogen storage properties were found at the composition of LiNH(2)-LiH-0.5Mg(BH(4))(2), which was tentatively attributed to a Li(4)(NH(2))(2)(BH(4))(2) intermediate. 5.3 wt% hydrogen desorption could be recorded at 150 °C, with the first 2.2 wt% release being reversible. This work suggests that controlled in situ hybridization combined with formula optimization can improve hydrogen storage properties.     

Correlation between composition and hydrogen storage behaviors of the Li2NH-MgNH combination system

Hydrogen storage performances of a Li(2)NH-xMgNH combination system (x = 0, 0.5, 1 and 2) are investigated for the first time. It is found that the hydrogenated samples with MgNH exhibit a significant reduction in the dehydrogenation temperatures. Mechanistic investigations reveal that there is a strong dependence of the hydrogen storage reaction process on the molar ratio between MgNH and Li(2)NH. As a consequence, tuning of thermodynamics is achieved for hydrogen storage in the Li(2)NH-xMgNH system by changing the reaction routes, which is ascertained to be the primary reason for the reduction in the operating temperature for hydrogen desorption. Specifically, it is found that under 105 atm hydrogen (140-280 °C) 5.6 wt% hydrogen is reversibly stored in the Li(2)NH-0.5MgNH combination system, which is greater than in the well-investigated Mg(NH(2))(2)-2LiH system.     

Sonochemical synthesis and properties of nanoparticles of FeSbO4

A sonochemical method was employed to prepare reactive nanoparticles of FeSbO(4) at 300 °C, which is the lowest calcination temperature reported so far for preparing FeSbO(4). A systematic evolution of the FeSbO(4) phase formation as a function of temperature was monitored by in situ synchrotron X-ray measurements. The 300 and 450 °C calcined powders exhibited specific surface areas of 116 and 75 m(2)/g, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectra analysis confirmed the presence of mainly Fe(3+) and Sb(5+) in the calcined powder. The response of the fabricated sensors (using both 300 and 450 °C calcined powders) toward 1000 ppm and 1, 2, 4, and 8% hydrogen, respectively, has been monitored at various operating temperatures. The sensors fabricated using 300 °C calcined powder exhibited a response of 76% toward 4% H(2) gas at an operating temperature of 300 °C, while those fabricated using 450 °C calcined powder exhibited a higher response of 91% with a quick recovery toward 4% H(2) gas at 300 °C. The results confirmed that a higher calcination temperature was preferred to achieve better sensitivity and selectivity toward hydrogen in comparison to other reducing gases such as butane and methane. The experimental results confirmed that the sonochemical process can be easily used to prepare FeSbO(4) nanoparticles for various catalytic applications as demonstrated. Here, we project FeSbO(4) as a new class of material exhibiting high sensitivity toward a wide range of hydrogen gas. Such sensors that could detect high concentrations of hydrogen may find application in nuclear reactors where there will be a leakage of hydrogen.     

Adsorption of molecular hydrogen on coordinatively unsaturated Ni(II) sites in a nanoporous hybrid material

A porous hybrid inorganic/organic material, NaNi3(OH)(SIP)2 [SIP = 5-sulfoisophthalate][1], is shown to strongly bind molecular hydrogen at coordinatively unsaturated metal sites. A combination of H2 sorption isotherms, temperature programmed desorption, and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy show the existence of a considerable number of such strong binding sites in [1] along with other sites where hydrogen is more weakly physisorbed. The overall capacity for hydrogen of this material as well as the much stronger binding of hydrogen than in typical porous material represent an important step toward a possible utilization of porous media for hydrogen storage.     

A (T-P) phase diagram of hydrogen storage on (N4C3H)6Li6

Temperature-pressure phase diagrams are generated through the study of hydrogen adsorption on the (N(4)C(3)H)(6)Li(6) cluster at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory. The possibility of hydrogen storage in an associated 3D functional material is also explored. Electronic structure calculations are performed to generate temperature-pressure phase diagrams so that the temperature-pressure zones are identified where the Gibbs free energy change associated with the hydrogen adsorption process on (N(4)C(3)H)(6)Li(6) cluster becomes negative and hence thermodynamically favorable. Both adsorption and desorption processes are likely to be kinetically feasible as well.     

Promoted dehydrogenation in ammine lithium borohydride supported by carbon nanotubes

In this paper, ammine lithium borohydride (LiBH(4)·NH(3)) was successfully impregnated into multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through a melting technique. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and density measurements were employed to confirm the formation of the nanostructured LiBH(4)·NH(3)/CNTs composites. As a consequence, it was found that the dehydrogenation of the loaded LiBH(4)·NH(3) was remarkably enhanced, showing an onset dehydrogenation at temperatures below 100 °C, together with a prominent desorption of pure hydrogen at around 280 °C, with a capacity as high as 6.7 wt.%, while only a trace of H(2) liberation was present for the pristine LiBH(4)·NH(3) in the same temperature range. Structural examination indicated that the significant modification of the thermal decomposition route of LiBH(4)·NH(3) achieved in the present study is due to the CNT-assisted formation of B-N-based hydride composite, starting at a temperature below 100 °C. It is demonstrated that the formation of this B-N-based hydride covalently stabilized the [NH] groups that were weakly coordinated on Li cations in the pristine LiBH(4)·NH(3)via strong B-N bonds, and furthermore, accounted for the substantial hydrogen desorption at higher temperatures.     

Reversible and selective O2 chemisorption in a porous metal-organic host material

The metal-organic host material [{Co(III)(2)(bpbp)(O(2))}(2)bdc](PF(6))(4) (1·2O(2); bpbp(-) = 2,6-bis(N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)aminomethyl)-4-tert-butylphenolato; bdc(2-) = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylato) displays reversible chemisorptive desorption and resorption of dioxygen through conversion to the deoxygenated Co(II) form [{Co(II)(2)(bpbp)}(2)bdc](PF(6))(4) (1). Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the host lattice 1·2O(2), achieved through desorption of included water guests from the as-synthesized phase 1·2O(2)·3H(2)O, consists of an ionic lattice containing discrete tetranuclear complexes, between which lie void regions that allow the migration of dioxygen and other guests. Powder X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the host material retains crystallinity through the dioxygen desorption/chemisorption processes. Dioxygen chemisorption measurements on 1 show near-stoichiometric uptake of dioxygen at 5 mbar and 25 °C, and this capacity is largely retained at temperatures above 100 °C. Gas adsorption isotherms of major atmospheric gases on both 1 and 1·2O(2) indicate the potential suitability of this material for air separation, with a O(2)/N(2) selectivity factor of 38 at 1 atm. Comparison of oxygen binding in solution and in the solid state indicates a dramatic increase in binding affinity to the complex when it is incorporated in a porous solid.     

A series of (6,6)-connected porous lanthanide−organic framework enantiomers with high thermostability and exposed metal sites: scalable syntheses, structures, and sorption properties

A series of microporous lanthanide-organic framework enantiomers, Ln(BTC)(H(2)O)·(DMF)(1.1) (Ln = Y 1a, 1b; Tb 2a, 2b; Dy 3a, 3b; Er 4a, 4b; Yb 5a, 5b, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate; DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) with unprecedented (6,6)-connected topology have been prepared and characterized. All these compounds exhibit very high thermal stability of over 450 °C. The pore characteristics and gas sorption properties of these compounds were investigated at cryogenic temperatures by experimentally measuring nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms. The studies show that all these compounds are highly porous with surface areas of 1080 (1), 786 (2), 757 (3), 676 (4), and 774 m(2)/g (5). The amounts of the hydrogen uptakes, 1.79 (1), 1.45 (2), 1.40 (3), 1.51 (4), and 1.41 wt % (5) at 77 K (1 atm), show their promising H(2) storage performances. These porous materials with considerable surface areas, high voids of 44.5% (1), 44.8% (2), 47.7% (3), 44.2% (4), and 45.7% (5), free windows of 6-7 ?, available exposed metal sites and very high thermal stability can be easily prepared on a large scale, which make them excellent candidates in many functional applications, such as, gas storage, catalysis, and so on.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of a Pr5Ni19 superlattice alloy and its hydrogen absorption-desorption property

The intermetallic compound Pr(5)Ni(19), which is not shown in the Pr-Ni binary phase diagram, was synthesized, and the crystal structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two superlattice reflections with the Sm(5)Co(19)-type structure (002 and 004) and the Pr(5)Co(19)-type structure (003 and 006) were observed in the 2θ region between 2° and 15° in the XRD pattern using Cu Kα radiation. Rietveld refinement provided the goodness-of-fit parameter S = 6.7 for the Pr(5)Co(19)-type (3R) structure model and S = 1.7 for the Sm(5)Co(19)-type (2H) structure model, indicating that the synthesized compound has a Sm(5)Co(19) structure. The refined lattice parameters were a = 0.50010(9) nm and c = 3.2420(4) nm. The high-resolution TEM image also clearly revealed that the crystal structure of Pr(5)Ni(19) is of the Sm(5)Co(19) type, which agrees with the results from Rietveld refinement of the XRD data. The P-C isotherm of Pr(5)Ni(19) in the first absorption was clearly different from that in the first desorption. A single plateau in absorption and three plateaus in desorption were observed. The maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the first cycle reached 1.1 H/M, and that of the second cycle was 0.8 H/M. The 0.3 H/M of hydrogen remained in the metal lattice after the first desorption process.     

Destabilisation of magnesium hydride by germanium as a new potential multicomponent hydrogen storage system

MgH(2) has too high an operating temperature for many hydrogen storage applications. However, MgH(2) ball-milled with Ge leads to a thermodynamic destabilisation of >50 kJ mol(-1)(H(2)). This has dramatically reduced the temperature of dehydrogenation to 130 °C, opening up the potential for Mg-based multicomponent systems as hydrogen stores for a range of applications.     

Hydrogen and syngas production from two-step steam reforming of methane using CeO2 as oxygen carrier

CeO2 oxygen carrier was prepared by precipitation method and tested by two-step steam reforming of methane (SRM). Two-step SRM for hydrogen and syngas generation is investigated in a fixed-bed reactor. Methane is directly converted to syngas at a H2/CO ratio close to 2 : 1 at a high temperature (above 750 °C) by the lattice oxygen of CeO2; methane cracking is found when the reduction degree of CeO2 was above 5.0% at 850 °C in methane isothermal reaction. CeO2?δ obtained from methane isothermal reaction can split water to generate CO-free hydrogen and renew its lattice oxygen at 700 °C; simultaneously, deposited carbon is selectively oxidized to CO2 by steam following the reaction (C+2H2O→CO2+2H2). Slight deactivation in terms of amounts of desired products (syngas and hydrogen) is observed in ten repetitive two-step SRM process due to the carbon deposition on CeO2 surface as well as sintering of CeO2.     

First-Principles Study of Pd Single-Atom Catalysis to Hydrogen Desorption Reactions on MgH2(110) Surface

MgH₂ is a promising and popular hydrogen storage material. In this work, the hydrogen desorption reactions of a single Pd atom adsorbed MgH₂(110) surface are investigated by using first-principles density functional theory calculations. We find that a single Pd atom adsorbed on the MgH₂(110) surface can signi cantly lower the energy barrier of the hydrogen desorption reactions from 1.802 eV for pure MgH₂(110) surface to 1.154 eV for Pd adsorbed MgH₂(110) surface, indicating a strong Pd single-atom catalytic effect on the hydrogen desorption reactions. Furthermore, the Pd single-atom catalysis significantly reduces the hydrogen desorption temperature from 573 K to 367 K, which makes the hydrogen desorption reactions occur more easily and quickly on the MgH₂(110) surface. We also discuss the microscopic process of the hydrogen desorption reactions through the reverse process of hydrogen spillover mechanism on the MgH₂(110) surface. This study shows that Pd/MgH₂ thin films can be used as good hydrogen storage materials in future experiments.     

Hydrogen storage in magnesium clusters: quantum chemical study

Magnesium hydride is cheap and contains 7.7 wt % hydrogen, making it one of the most attractive hydrogen storage materials. However, thermodynamics dictate that hydrogen desorption from bulk magnesium hydride only takes place at or above 300 degrees C, which is a major impediment for practical application. A few results in the literature, related to disordered materials and very thin layers, indicate that lower desorption temperatures are possible. We systematically investigated the effect of crystal grain size on the thermodynamic stability of magnesium and magnesium hydride, using ab initio Hartree-Fock and density functional theory calculations. Also, the stepwise desorption of hydrogen was followed in detail. As expected, both magnesium and magnesium hydride become less stable with decreasing cluster size, notably for clusters smaller than 20 magnesium atoms. However, magnesium hydride destabilizes more strongly than magnesium. As a result, the hydrogen desorption energy decreases significantly when the crystal grain size becomes smaller than approximately 1.3 nm. For instance, an MgH2 crystallite size of 0.9 nm corresponds to a desorption temperature of only 200 degrees C. This predicted decrease of the hydrogen desorption temperature is an important step toward the application of Mg as a hydrogen storage material.