Recent Advances in Hydrogen Storage Materials

An overview of recent advances in hydrogen storage is presented in this review. The main focus is on metal hydrides, liquid-phase hydrogen storage material, alkaline earth metal NC/polymer composites and lithium borohydride ammoniate. Boron-nitrogen-based liquid-phase hydrogen storage material is a liquid under ambient conditions, air- and moisture-stable, recyclable and releases H-2 controllably and cleanly. It is not a solid material. It is easy storage and transport. The development of a liquid-phase hydrogen storage material has the potential to take advantage of the existing liquid-based distribution infrastructure. An air-stable composite material that consists of metallic Mg nanocrystals (NCs) in a gas-barrier polymer matrix that enables both the storage of a high density of hydrogen and rapid kinetics (loading in <30 min at 200 degrees C). Moreover, nanostructuring of Mg provides rapid storage kinetics without using expensive heavy-metal catalysts. The Co-catalyzed lithium borohydride ammoniate, Li(NH3)(4/3)BH4 releases 17.8 wt% of hydrogen in the temperature range of 135 to 250 degrees C in a closed vessel. This is the maximum amount of dehydrogenation in all reports. These will reduce economy cost of the global transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen energy.