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A Simple, Low-cost, and Robust System to Measure the Volume of Hydrogen Evolved by Chemical Reactions with Aqueous Solutions
Published on: August 17, 2016
Cobalt-catalyzed hydrogen desorption from the LiNH2-LiBH4 system
Wan Si Tang1, Guotao Wu, Tao Liu
1Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore117542.
Adding cobalt chloride (CoCl2) to lithium amide (LiNH2) and lithium borohydride (LiBH4) mixtures significantly lowers hydrogen release temperatures. This doping enables over 8 wt% hydrogen release around 155°C, showing catalytic potential.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
- Hydrogen Storage
Background:
- Developing efficient hydrogen storage materials is crucial for clean energy technologies.
- Lithium amide (LiNH2) and lithium borohydride (LiBH4) mixtures show promise for hydrogen storage but suffer from high dehydrogenation temperatures.
- Catalyst doping is a common strategy to improve the hydrogen release kinetics of metal hydrides.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of cobalt chloride (CoCl2) doping on the dehydrogenation properties of LiNH2-LiBH4 mixtures.
- To understand the structural and chemical changes induced by CoCl2 doping.
- To evaluate the catalytic performance of the doped material for hydrogen release.
Main Methods:
- Ball milling of LiNH2 and LiBH4 with 5 wt% CoCl2.
- Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to measure hydrogen release capacity and temperature.
- X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to determine the chemical state of cobalt.
- Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy to analyze the local structure and dispersion of cobalt species.
Main Results:
- A doping of 5 wt% CoCl2 significantly decreased the dehydrogenation temperature of the LiNH2-LiBH4 mixture.
- Over 8 wt% of hydrogen was released at approximately 155°C in the doped sample.
- XANES and EXAFS spectroscopy confirmed the formation of metallic cobalt (Co) with poor crystallinity and fine dispersion within the host material.
- The finely dispersed metallic cobalt is proposed to act as an effective catalyst.
Conclusions:
- Cobalt chloride doping is an effective strategy to lower the dehydrogenation temperature of LiNH2-LiBH4 mixtures for hydrogen storage.
- The catalytic activity is attributed to the formation of finely dispersed metallic cobalt nanoparticles.
- This approach offers a promising pathway for developing practical hydrogen storage materials with improved performance.
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