Hydrogen storage properties in a composite of lithium hydride and boron nitride with hydrocarbon groups

We synthesized BNnanoCHx by ball-milling hBN under methane atmosphere. This BNnanoCHx product itself desorbed not only hydrogen but also hydrocarbons in a wide temperature range from 300 to 900 °C. Moreover, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy for BNnanoCHx indicated the existence of the C–H bonding in the material. On the analogy of the CnanoHx–LiH composite reported before, we prepared the composite of BNnanoCHx and LiH. This composite successfully desorbed hydrogen around 200 °C, in which the emission of the hydrocarbon gases was strongly suppressed. Thermodynamic and structural properties of the composite showed an interaction between the C–H groups and LiH. Thus we found that the BNnanoCHx–LiH composite is a new hydrogen storage material.