Complex aluminum hydrides

NaAlH4 is amongst the most advanced and intensely investigated hydrogen storage materials today. It reaches a storage capacity of more than 5 wt.% at around 100 °C. By suitable doping with catalysts, the re- and de-hydrogenation kinetics can be dramatically improved so that re-hydrogenation times on the order of minutes can be achieved. The salient features of doped NaAlH4 are discussed first. Then the findings are extrapolated to other possible alanate-based hydrogen storage materials.