Complex rare-earth aluminum hydrides: Mechanochemical preparation, crystal structure and potential for hydrogen storage

Claudia Weidenthaler*, André Pommerin, Michael Felderhoff, Wenhao Sun, Christopher Wolverton, Borislav Bogdanović, Ferdi Schüth

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

A novel type of complex rare-earth aluminum hydride was prepared by mechanochemical preparation. The crystal structure of the REAlH6 (with RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd) compounds was calculated by DFT methods and confirmed by preliminary structure refinements. The trigonal crystal structure consists of isolated [AlH6]3- octahedra bridged via [12] coordinated RE cations. The investigation of the rare-earth aluminum hydrides during thermolysis shows a decrease of thermal stability with increasing atomic number of the RE element. Rare-earth hydrides (REHx) are formed as primary dehydrogenation products; the final products are RE-aluminum alloys. The calculated decomposition enthalpies of the rare-earth aluminum hydrides are at the lower end for reversible hydrogenation under moderate conditions. Even though these materials may require somewhat higher pressures and/or lower temperatures for rehydrogenation, they are interesting examples of low-temperature metal hydrides for which reversibility might be reached.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)16735-16743
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume131
Issue number46
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Complex rare-earth aluminum hydrides: Mechanochemical preparation, crystal structure and potential for hydrogen storage'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this