Hydrogen desorption and cycling properties of composites based on mesoporous carbons and a LiBH4-Ca(BH4)2 eutectic mixture

A LiBH4-Ca(BH4)(2) eutectic mixture was either physically mixed with, or melt infiltrated in, two mesoporous templated carbons with distinctively different mean pore size (similar to 5 and 20-30 nm). In order to investigate possible catalytic effects of the carbonaceous surfaces, an extra set of composites was prepared by using a non-porous carbon material. The hydrogen release properties of all composites differ significantly from the bulk borohydrides mixture. Kinetics are enhanced especially in the cases of using as scaffold the small mesopore (pore diameter similar to 5 nm) carbon. Additionally the cycling behaviour of the various porous and non-porous carbon composites reveals different reaction pathways compared to the bulk material, pointing to a synergy of catalytic and nanoconfinement effects. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.