Mechano-chemical activation of the (3LiBH4 + TiF3) system, its dehydrogenation behavior and the effects of ultrafine filamentary Ni and graphene additives

Ball milling (BM) for 5 h reduced the thermal release of B₂H₆ to nearly zero.

Mechanical and Thermal Dehydrogenation of the Mechano-Chemically Synthesized Calcium Alanate (Ca(AlH4)2) and Lithium Chloride (LiCl) Composite

LiAlH₄ and CaCl₂ were employed for mechano-chemical activation synthesis (MCAS) of Ca(AlH₄)₂ and LiCl hydride composite. After short ball milling time, their X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks are clearly observed. After ball milling for a longer duration than 0.5 h, the CaAlH₅ diffraction peaks are observed which indicates that Ca(AlH₄)₂ starts decomposing during ball milling into CaAlH₅+Al+1.5H₂. It is estimated that less than 1 wt % H₂ was mechanically dehydrogenated in association with decomposition reaction. After 2.5 h of ball milling, no Ca(AlH₄)₂ diffraction peaks were observed on XRD patterns which suggests that Ca(AlH₄)₂ was decomposed. Thermal behavior of ball milled powders, which was investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicates that a certain fraction of Ca(AlH₄)₂ could have been disordered/amorphized during ball milling being undetectable by XRD. The apparent activation energy for the decomposition of Ca(AlH₄)₂ and CaAlH₅ equals 135 kJ/mol and 183 kJ/mol, respectively.

Photocatalytic activity of hydrogenated TiO2

Photocatalysis is a promising advanced water treatment technology, and recently the possibility of using hydrogenation to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of titanium dioxide has generated much research interest. Herein we report that the use of high-temperature hydrogenation to prepare black TiO2 primarily results in the formation of bulk defects in the material without affecting its electronic band structure. The hydrogenated TiO2 exhibited significantly worse photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight compared to the unhydrogenated control, and thus we propose that high-temperature hydrogenation can be counterproductive to improving the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, because of its propensity to form bulk vacancy defects.

Mechanochemical activation and synthesis of nanomaterials for hydrogen storage and conversion in electrochemical power sources

In this study we discuss a process of mechanical activation employed in place of chemical or thermal activation to improve the mobility and reactivity of hydrogen atoms and ions in nanomaterials for energy applications: rechargeable batteries and hydrogen storage for fuel cell systems. Two materials are discussed. Both are used or intended for use in power sources. One is nickel hydroxide, Ni(OH)2, which converts to oxyhydroxide in the positive Ni electrode of rechargeable metal hydride batteries. The other is a complex hydride, Mg(AIH4)2, intended for use in reversible, solid-state hydrogen storage for fuel cells. The feature shared by these unlikely materials (hydroxide and hydride) is a sheet-like hexagonal crystal structure. The mechanical activation was conducted in high-energy ball mills. We discuss and demonstrate that the mechanical excitation of atoms and ions imparted on these powders stems from the same class of phenomena. These are (i) proliferation of structural defects, in particular stacking faults in a sheet-like structure of hexagonal crystals, and (ii) possible fragmentation of a faulted structure into a mosaic of layered nanocrystals. The hydrogen atoms bonded in such nanocrystals may be inserted and abstracted more easily from OH- hydroxyl group in Ni(OH)2 and AlH4- hydride complex in Mg(AlH4)2 during hydrogen charge and discharge reactions. However, the effects of mechanical excitation imparted on these powders are different. While the Ni(OH)2 powder is greatly activated for cycling in batteries, the Mg(AlH4)2 complex hydride phase is greatly destabilized for use in reversible hydrogen storage. Such a "synchronic" view of the structure-property relationship in respect to materials involved in hydrogen energy storage and conversion is supported in experiments employing X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and direct imaging of the structure with a high-resolution transmission-electron microscope (HREM), as well as in property characterization.

Feasibility study of the direct mechano-chemical synthesis of nanostructured magnesium tetrahydroaluminate (alanate) [Mg(AlH(4))(2)] complex hydride

The present work reports a feasibility study of the direct mechano-chemical synthesis by controlled reactive mechanical alloying (CRMA) in a magneto-ball mill of the nanostructured magnesium tetrahydroaluminate (magnesium alanate) Mg(AlH(4))(2) complex hydride. Three stoichiometric Mg-2Al mixtures, (a) elemental Mg and Al powders, (b) elemental Al powder and commercial AZ91 alloy (Mg-Al-Zn alloy) and (c) powder of as-cast Mg-2Al alloy, have been used. No successful synthesis of Mg(AlH(4))(2) has been achieved. The only nanocrystalline hydride formed up to 270 h of CRMA is beta-MgH(2), and it does not react with Al and H(2) to form Mg(AlH(4))(2). It has been found that there is strong competition between formation of Al(Mg) solid solution and the beta-MgH(2) hydride occurring to a various extent up to approximately 10 h of CRMA in all three Mg-2Al mixtures. It is hypothesized that the presence of Al(Mg) solid solution inhibits the reaction of beta-MgH(2), Al and H(2) to form Mg(AlH(4))(2). Furthermore, despite the fact that after prolonged milling the Al(Mg) solution eventually decomposes into secondary Al(s) (derived from solid solution), the latter retains its physico-chemical characteristics of the former solid solution which still inhibits the reaction to form Mg(AlH(4))(2). Experimental evidence from DSC measurements shows increasing ranges of the melting enthalpy with increasing amounts of Al(Mg) solid solution and consequently the secondary Al(s) for all the three Mg-2Al mixtures. This strongly supports the hypothesis about the different nature of Al(Mg) and the secondary Al(s) as compared to the primary elemental Al powder.