PNNL

Abstract

A series of metal amido boranes LiNH2BH3 (LAB), NaNH2BH3 (SAB), LiNH(Me)BH3 (LMAB), NaNH(Me)BH3 (SMAB), KNH(Me)BH3 (PMAB), and KNH(tBu)BH3 (PBAB) were synthesized, by solution phase methods, and the thermal release of H2 in the solid state was studied. Based on the observed trends in reaction rates of H > Me > tBu and the kinetic isotope effect, the mechanism of hydrogen release from MAB compounds was found to proceed through a bimolecular mechanism involving the intermediacy of a MH (M = Li, Na, or K). The mechanism of hydrogen release from metal amidoboranes, a metal ion assisted hydride transfer, is very different than the mechanism of hydrogen release from the parent compound ammonia borane (AB). The non-volatile products formed from MAB’s are significantly different than the products formed after hydrogen release from AB. The boron containing resulting from the release of one equivalent of hydrogen from the metal amidoboranes were characterized by MAS 11B NMR spectroscopy and found to contain both BH3 and sp2 hybridized BH groups, consistent with a general structural feature MN(R)=BHN(R)MBH3. This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as part of the Chemical Hydrogen Storage CoE at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is operated for the U.S. DOE by Battelle. MAS NMR studies were performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research located at PNNL.