July 1, 2008
Journal Article

Synthesis of Ammonia Borane for Hydrogen Storage Applications

Abstract

A new synthetic procedure to make a condensed phase hydrogen storage material, ammonia borane (AB) is described and compared with previous literature procedures. The work shows that ammonium borohydride, NH4BH4, formed in-situ by the metathesis of NH4X and MBH4 salts (M = Na, Li; X = Cl, F) in liquid NH3, can be induced to decompose in THF to yield AB in near quantitative yield. AB, NH3BH3, gravimetric density ca. 194 gm H2/kg and volumetric density ca. 146 H2/liter is a promising chemical hydrogen storage material for fuel cell powered applications.

Revised: March 30, 2010 | Published: July 1, 2008

Citation

Heldebrant D.J., A.J. Karkamkar, J.C. Linehan, and T. Autrey. 2008. Synthesis of Ammonia Borane for Hydrogen Storage Applications. Energy & Environmental Science 1, no. 1:156-160. PNNL-SA-60960. doi:10.1039/b808865a