Inorganic Chemistry
ARTICLE
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Figure 7. 11B NMR spectrum of the catalyzed hydrolysis solution
(NH4B3H8: H2O being 1: 18).
When an aqueous solution with 1:10 molar ratio of NH4B3H8
to H2O was subject to hydrolysis catalyzed by 4 mol % of CoCl2,
full hydrolysis was achieved in ∼200 min, which corresponds to a
production of 7.5 wt % H. The U.S. DOE recently modified the
vehicular hydrogen storage targets to 4.5 wt % by 2010, 5.5 wt %
by 2015, and 7.5 wt % for the ultimate.24 NH4B3H8 thus could be
a potential candidate to meet the 2010 target.
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Calculations of the standard heat of hydrolysis from the
standard enthalpies of formation indicate that H2 release from
NH4B3H8 is much less exothermic (5.43 kcal/mol H2, Support-
ing Information) than from either NaBH4 (14.9 kcal/mol H2),
NH3BH3 (12.7 kcal/mol H2), or NH3B3H7 (18.9 kcal/mol
H2).3a The less exothermic nature favors NH4B3H8 over the
other candidates from the standpoint of heat management and
system design.
As in the cases of NaBH4, NH3BH3, and NH3B3H7, the
formation of borates may affect the performance of the catalysts
if the borate precipitates cover the active sites. It should be noted
that the removal and transportability of the borates depend on
the starting materials and reaction conditions,25 and thus can be
improved accordingly. Regeneration of these compounds from
the borates has been challenging, but progress has been made in
the regeneration of spent fuel back into NH3BH3.26 The final
utility of NH4B3H8 as a chemical hydrogen storage material will
also hinge on the development of an efficient “off-board”
regeneration of NH4B3H8.
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’ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S
Supporting Information. Structural information, calcu-
b
lation of the heat of the hydrolysis, mass spectra of gas from
hydrolysis and thermal decomposition. This material is available
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION
(19) Parry, R. W.; Edwards, L. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1959, 81, 3554.
(20) Hu, M. G.; Geanangel, R. A.; Wendlandt, W. W. Thermochim.
Acta 1978, 23, 249.
Corresponding Authors
*E-mail: zhao.199@osu.edu (J.-C.Z.), shore.1@osu.edu (S.G.S.).
(21) Brockman, A.; Zheng, Y.; Gore, J. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 2010,
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’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
under Contract No. DE-FC3605GO15062.
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