Nanocrystalline aluminium hydrides for hydrogen storage

Nanocrystalline aluminium hydrides (alanates) are potential hydrogen storage materials for PEM fuel cell applications. Beside the reversible amount of hydrogen, kinetic and thermodynamic properties of alanate-based storage materials have still to be optimised. Progress was made in improving the kinetics of hydrogen uptake and release by a novel Ti catalyst. The available base materials, however, suffer from the low hydrogen content or unfavourable thermodynamic properties. Magnesium alanate has the potential to exchange up to 6.9 wt.% of hydrogen in its first transformation step. First measurements indicate equilibrium desorption pressures above 100 bar at the working temperatures of a PEM fuel cell.