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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
A Protocol for Safe Lithiation Reactions Using Organolithium Reagents
Published on: November 12, 2016
Dehydrogenation of a combined LiAlH4/LiNH2 system
1Department of Metallurgical Engineering, University of Utah, 135 South 1460 East Room 412, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Abstract:
Although there have been numerous materials systems studied as potential candidates for hydrogen storage applications, none of the materials known to date has demonstrated enough hydrogen capacity or efficiency at required operating temperature ranges. There are still considerable opportunities for discovery of new materials or material systems that could lead to advances in science as well as commercial technologies in this area. LiAlH(4) is one of the most promising materials owing to its high hydrogen content. In the present work, we investigated dehydrogenation properties of the combined system of LiAlH(4) and LiNH(2) under atmospheric argon. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of 2LiAlH(4)/LiNH(2) mixtures without any catalysts indicated that a large amount of hydrogen (approximately 8.1 wt %) can be released between 85 and 320 degrees C under a heating rate of 2 degrees C/min in three dehydrogenation reaction steps. It is found that LiNH(2) effectively destabilizes LiAlH(4) by reacting with LiH during the dehydrogenation process of LiAlH(4).
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