Enhancing the dehydrogenation properties of LiAlH4 through the addition of ZrF4 for solid-state hydrogen storage

Hydrogen energy is emerging as an essential alternative to fossil fuels due to its clean energy profile, generating energy without greenhouse gas emissions. Solid-state hydrogen storage, particularly using complex hydrides like LiAlH ₄, holds promise due to high hydrogen capacities. However, practical applications of LiAlH ₄ face obstacles due to slow dehydrogenation kinetics and high decomposition temperatures. This study investigates the catalytic effect of ZrF ₄ on LiAlH ₄ to improve hydrogen storage properties. Incorporating 10 wt% ZrF ₄ has significantly lowered the onset desorption temperature from 160 °C to 80 °C. Desoption kinetic result showed that the addition of 10 wt% ZrF ₄ can enables the release of 5.6 wt% hydrogen in 120 min at 100 °C, which is 50 times faster than in undoped samples. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that ZrF ₄ facilitated the in-situ formation of Al ₃Zr and LiF phases during dehydrogenation, thereby enhancing catalytic efficiency. The desorption activation energies for first two reactions decreased significantly by ∼ 16 kJ/mol and ∼24 kJ/mol with ZrF ₄ doping. These findings suggest that ZrF ₄ effectively improves the hydrogen storage properties of LiAlH ₄, positioning it as a potential catalyst for solid-state hydrogen storage systems.