Decreasing the thermal dehydrogenation temperature of methylamine borane (MeAB) by mixing with poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA)

This paper reports on a hydrogen storage material of poly(methyl acrylate) and methylamine borane (PMA/MeAB) composite, which is synthesized by a simple solution-blending process at room temperature. The thermal decomposition process of the as-prepared composite is investigated by temperature programmed desorption/mass spectrometer (TPD/MS), thermogravimetry (TG) measurements and water displacement method. It is found that PMA/MeAB100 (100 mg PMA with 100 mg MeAB) starts to release H2 at the temperature of 90.5 °C with the dehydrogenation peak centered at 120.7 °C. This is about 20 °C lower than that of neat MeAB. Meanwhile, the evaporation of MeAB and the volatile byproducts from the dehydrogenation stage of PMA/MeAB100 are also suppressed. The present result shows that the dehydrogenation property of MeAB is enhanced by using PMA/MeAB composite.

► A hydrogen storage material of poly(methyl acrylate) and methylamine borane (PMA/MeAB) composite has been synthesized at room temperature. ► The PMA/MeAB composite starts to release H2 at the temperature of 90.5 °C, which is much lower than that of neat MeAB. ► The PMA/MeAB composite shows an enhancement of the dehydrogenation kinetic and the suppression of the releasing byproducts.