International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.37, No.11, 9076-9081, 2012
Synthesis and dehydrogenation of LiCa(NH2)(3)(BH3)(2)
We report the synthesis of a new hydrogen storage material with a composition of LiCa(NH2)(3)(BH3)(2). The theoretical hydrogen capacity of LiCa(NH2)(3)(BH3)(2) is 9.85 wt.%. It can be prepared by ball milling the mixture of calcium amidoborane (Ca(NH2BH3)(2)) and lithium amide (LiNH2) in a molar ratio of 1:1. The experimental results show that this material starts to release hydrogen at a temperature as low as ca. 50 degrees C, which is ca. 70 degrees C lower than that of pure Ca(NH2BH3)(2) possibly resulting from the active interaction of NH2- in LiNH2 with BH3 in Ca(NH2BH3)(2). ca. 4.1 equiv. or 6.8 wt.% hydrogen can be released at 300 degrees C. The dehydrogenation is a mildly exothermic process forming stable nitride products. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.