Thermodynamic destabilization and reaction kinetics in light metal hydride systems.
Abstract
Exptl. approaches for altering the thermodn. and kinetics of light element hydride systems are discussed. Equil. H pressures and reaction enthalpies can be varied with additives that form new alloy or compd. phases upon dehydrogenation. The formation of new phases lowers the dehydrogenated state enthalpy and effectively destabilizes the component hydrides. This strategy is illustrated for LiBH4 destabilized by MgH2, MgF2, MgS, and MgSe. The slow rate of H exchange in light element hydrides can be improved with catalysts and by decreasing diffusion distances to the nanometer scale. The catalytic effects of a variety of transition metal sources on H exchange in the LiBH4/MgH2 system are described. The effect of reduced diffusion distances are illustrated using LiBH4 incorporated into a nanoporous C aerogel. [on SciFinder(R)]