Hydrogen storage performance of lithium borohydride decorated activated hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposite for fuel cell applications

A safe and cost effective material for hydrogen storage is indispensable for developing hydrogen fuel cell technology to reach its greater heights. The present work deals with hydrogen storage performance of lithium borohydride decorated activated hexagonal boron nitride (LiBH4@Ah-BN) nanocomposite. where a facile chemical impregnation method was adopted for the preparation of LiBH4@Ah-BN nanocomposite. The prepared nanocomposite was subjected to various characterization techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Micro-Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Studies, CHNS-Elemental Analysis and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). From BET studies, it is confirmed that, there is an enhancement in the specific surface area of LiBH4@Ah-BN nanocomposite (122 m2/g) compared to Ah-BN (70 m2/g). The hydrogen storage ability was examined using a Sieverts-like hydrogenation setup. An excellent hydrogen storage capacity of 2.3 wt% at 100 °C was noticed for LiBH4@Ah-BN nanocomposite. The TGA study indicates the dehydrogenation profile of stored hydrogen in the range of 110-150 °C. The binding energy of stored hydrogen (0.31 eV) lies in recommended range of US-DOE 2020 targets for fuel cell applications. The present investigation demonstrates the preparation of LiBH4@Ah-BN nanocomposite based hydrogen storage medium which has remarkable cycling stability and hydrogen storage capacity. Hence these desirable traits make LiBH4@Ah-BN nanocomposite as a potential hydrogen storage candidate for fuel cell applications in near future.