Promoted hydrogen release from ammonia borane with mannitol via a solid-state reaction route

Promoted hydrogen release from ammonia borane (NH(3)BH(3), AB) with mannitol (C(6)H(8)(OH)(6), MA) additive is reported. It is found that for the MA/2AB sample, the dehydrogenation temperature is lowered by ~25 °C compared to that of neat AB, the liberation of undesired byproduct borazine is suppressed, and the released ammonia can be removed by using anhydrous MgCl(2) as absorber. The analyses of Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and (11)B nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrate the breaking of B-N, B-H and O-H bonds and the formation of B-O bonds for the dehydrogenation process of MA/2AB. These results suggest a solid-state dehydrogenation reaction between AB and MA: the B-H(δ-) bonds in AB and the O-H(δ+) bonds in MA combine with each other to release H(2). Furthermore, the use of the perfect -OH carrier MA as additive leads to a straightforward understanding of the improved dehydrogenation of AB under the effect of hydroxyl groups in the solid state.