Enhancement of Hydrogen Storage Behavior of Complex Hydrides via Bimetallic Nanocatalysts Doping

Abstract: Pristine complex quaternary hydride (LiBH₄/2LiNH₂) and its destabilized counterpart (LiBH₄/2LiNH₂/nanoMgH₂) have recently shown promising reversible hydrogen storage capacity under moderate operating conditions. The destabilization of complex hydride via nanocrystalline MgH₂ apparently lowers the thermodynamic heat values and thus enhances the reversible hydrogen storage behavior at moderate temperatures. However, the kinetics of these materials is rather low and needs to be improved for on-board vehicular applications. Nanocatalyst additives such as nano Ni, nano Fe, nano Co, nano Mn and nano Cu at low concentrations on the complex hydride host structures have demonstrated a reduction in the decomposition temperature and overall increase in the hydrogen desorption reaction rates. Bi-metallic nanocatalysts such as the combination of nano Fe and nano Ni have shown further pronounced kinetics enhancement in comparison to their individual counterparts. Additionally, the vital advantage of using bi-metallic nanocatalysts is to enable the synergistic effects and characteristics of the two transitional nanometal species on the host hydride matrix for the optimized hydrogen storage behavior.