Enhancing the dehydrogenation properties of LiAlH4 through the addition of ZrF4 for solid-state hydrogen storage

• Published in: Journal of Alloys and Compounds
• Main Author: Ya Omar N.A.M.; Omar Z.; Ismail M.; Mustafa N.S.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2025
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85207766372&doi=10.1016%2fj.jallcom.2024.177250&partnerID=40&md5=cfad49ebb90d193b6d31d6747233c76a

Hydrogen energy is emerging as an essential alternative to fossil fuels due to its clean energy profile, generating energy without greenhouse gas emissions. Solid-state hydrogen storage, particularly using complex hydrides like LiAlH4, holds promise due to high hydrogen capacities. However, practical applications of LiAlH4 face obstacles due to slow dehydrogenation kinetics and high decomposition temperatures. This study investigates the catalytic effect of ZrF4 on LiAlH4 to improve hydrogen storage properties. Incorporating 10 wt% ZrF4 has significantly lowered the onset desorption temperature from 160 °C to 80 °C. Desoption kinetic result showed that the addition of 10 wt% ZrF4 can enables the release of 5.6 wt% hydrogen in 120 min at 100 °C, which is 50 times faster than in undoped samples. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that ZrF4 facilitated the in-situ formation of Al3Zr and LiF phases during dehydrogenation, thereby enhancing catalytic efficiency. The desorption activation energies for first two reactions decreased significantly by ∼ 16 kJ/mol and ∼24 kJ/mol with ZrF4 doping. These findings suggest that ZrF4 effectively improves the hydrogen storage properties of LiAlH4, positioning it as a potential catalyst for solid-state hydrogen storage systems. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.