Nanoconfined 2LiBH4–MgH2–TiCl3 in carbon aerogel scaffold for reversible hydrogen storage

Nanoconfinement of 2LiBH4-MgH2-TiCl3 in resorcinoleformaldehyde carbon aerogel scaffold (RFeCAS) for reversible hydrogen storage applications is proposed. RF-CAS is encapsulated with approximately 1.6 wt. % TiCl3 by solution impregnation technique, and it is further nanoconfined with bulk 2LiBH4-MgH2 via melt infiltration. Faster dehydrogenation kinetics is obtained after TiCl3 impregnation, for example, nanoconfined 2LiBH4-MgH2-TiCl3 requires about 1 and 4.5 h, respectively, to release 95% of the total hydrogen content during the 1st and 2nd cycles, while nanoconfined 2LiBH4-MgH2 (about 2.5 and 7 h, respectively) and bulk material (about 23 and 22 h, respectively) take considerably longer. Moreover, 95-98.6% of the theoretical H2 storage capacity (3.6-3.75 wt. % H2) is reproduced after four hydrogen release and uptake cycles of the nanoconfined 2LiBH4-MgH2-TiCl3. The reversibility of this hydrogen storage material is confirmed by the formation of LiBH4 and MgH2 after rehydrogenation using FTIR and SR-PXD techniques, respectively.