Advanced nanostructured hydride composites based on light elements for solid state hydrogen storage

在过去的二十年里，氢被认为是一种未来的能源载体，可能会逐渐实现从以化石燃料为基础的经济向氢经济的转变。在未来的氢经济中，氢燃料电池和发动机可以为我们的汽车、卡车、公交车和其他车辆、飞机以及我们的家庭、办公室和工厂提供动力。实施广泛的氢经济的主要挑战之一是为各种工业部门，特别是交通/汽车应用开发高效的储氢技术。固态氢存储要求氢化物具有较高的氢气体积密度和重量密度、操作脱氢/再氢化温度范围与燃料电池组产生的废热相适应、快速脱氢/再氢化速率、可逆性和合理的低价格。目前的研究建议集中于进一步开发先进的纳米氢化物复合材料，主要基于非常轻的金属和非金属元素，如锂(Li)、硼(B)和氮(N)，这些元素形成了具有最高理论重量氢容量的氢化物，如硼氢化锂(LiBH4)和氨硼烷(NH3BH3)，它们分别具有非常高的重量氢容量18.4wt.%和19.6wt.%。为了改善其储氢性能，将在独特的磁磨机中通过控制球磨合成具有纳米级催化添加剂的新型复合氢化物系统，这将导致颗粒和内部颗粒的严重纳米结构，实际上尺寸达到10exp-9m的数量级，比人类头发的直径小许多倍。重点将放在深入了解导致观察到的储氢行为的基本物理/化学过程，并最终创建适合于各种工业部门商业应用的终极固态氢化物系统。

In the last two decades hydrogen has been perceived as a future energy carrier that may gradually allow the transformation from the fossil fuel based economy to the hydrogen economy. In the future hydrogen economy, hydrogen-powered fuel cells and engines could power our cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles, airplanes, as well as our homes, offices, and factories. One of the major challenges to the implementation of the widespread hydrogen economy is the development of an efficient hydrogen storage technology for various industrial sectors and particularly for transportation/automotive applications. Solid state hydrogen storage requires hydrides exhibiting high volumetric and gravimetric densities of hydrogen, the operating dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation temperature ranges compatible with the waste heat generated by a fuel cell stack, fast dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation rates, reversibility and a reasonably low price. The present research proposal is focused on further development of advanced nanostructured hydride composites, predominantly based on very light metallic and non-metallic elements such as lithium (Li), boron (B) and nitrogen (N), which form hydrides with the highest theoretical gravimetric hydrogen capacities such as lithium borohydride (LiBH4) and ammonia borane (NH3BH3) exhibiting very high gravimetric hydrogen capacities of 18.4 and 19.6 wt.%, respectively. In order to improve their hydrogen storage properties novel composite hydride systems with nanometric-sized catalytic additives will be synthesized by controlled ball milling in a unique magneto mill which brings about a severe nanostructuring of particles and internal grains creating, in effect, dimensions to the order of 10exp-9 m, many times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. An emphasis will be placed on in-depth understanding of fundamental physical/chemical processes that are responsible for the observed hydrogen storage behavior and finally, create ultimate solid state hydride systems suitable for commercial applications in various industrial sectors.