LiBH\(_4\) was added to a number of different non-reactive additives in order to investigate their influence on the hydrogen storage properties of LiBH\(_4\). Graphite is a cheap and abundant material that has been used to destabilize hydrogen storage materials such as LiH. Ball milling graphite under Ar was shown to induce a higher amorphous content compared to milling under H\(_2\). The addition of LiBH\(_4\) to graphite milled under Ar resulted in a reduction of 102°C in the decomposition temperature of LiBh\(_4\). The effect of porous additives was investigated through the incorporation of LiBH\(_4\) into zeolite templated carbon (ZTC) and porous silicon. Confinement in these scaffolds resulted in a decrease in the decomposition temperature of LiBH\(_4\) by 125°C. The smaller pore size of ZTC was found to have the greatest effect on the H\(_2\) onset and cyclic stability of LiBh\(_4\). The pre-melting of LiBh\(_4\) into porous scaffolds was shown to eliminate B\(_2\)H\(_6\) release during decomposition. No correlation between the surface area of the additives and decomposition temperature of LiBH\(_4\) was observed. Although none of the materials studied in this work meet the United States DoE targets, confinement of LiBH\(_4\) in porous structures offers a promising approach to unlocking its potential.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:715676 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Vines, Joshua Edwin |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7542/ |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds