Interaction of RT3 (R=Ce, Y; T=Ni, Co) intermetallic compounds with alkaline solutions of MBH4 (M=Na, K, Rb, and Cs)

The interaction of RT₃ (R=Ce, Y; T=Ni, Co) intermetallic compounds (IMC)with alkaline solutions of MBH₄ (M=Na, K, Rb, and Cs) was studied in the temperature range of 298–318 K. For all intermetallic compounds, the reaction of catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄ is zero order with respect to MBH₄ and first order with respect to RT₃. The reaction rate decreases and the activation energy of the catalytic hydrolysis of MBH₄ increases in the following order. NaBH₄, KBH₄, RbBH₄, and CsBH₄. The hydride phases RT₃H_x (x2.3—3.9) were synthesized by the interaction of RT₃ IMC with alkaline solutions of MBH₄. They are similar in composition to the products formed in the reaction of RT₃ with gaseous hydrogen at high pressure. The rate of hydrogenation of RT₃ in alkaline solutions of MBH₄ decreases on going from sodium to cesium. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 921–923, May, 1997.