A new Li-Al-N-H system for reversible hydrogen storage.

Complex metal hydrides are considered as a class of candidate materials for hydrogen storage. Lithium-based complex hydrides including lithium alanates (LiAlH(4) and Li(3)AlH(6)) are among the most promising materials owing to its high hydrogen content. In the present work, we investigated dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation reactions of a combined system of Li(3)AlH(6) and LiNH(2). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of Li(3)AlH(6)/3LiNH(2)/4 wt % TiCl(3)-(1)/(3)AlCl(3) mixtures indicated that a large amount of hydrogen (approximately 7.1 wt %) can be released between 150 degrees C and 300 degrees C under a heating rate of 5 degrees C/min in two dehydrogenation reaction steps. The results also show that the dehydrogenation reaction of the new material system is nearly 100% reversible under 2000 psi pressure hydrogen at 300 degrees C. Further, a short-cycle experiment has demonstrated that the new combined material system of alanates and amides can maintain its hydrogen storage capacity upon cycling of the dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation reactions.