Catalytically enhanced dehydrogenation of Li–Mg–N–H hydrogen storage material by transition metal nitrides

Motivated by the understanding of dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation reaction mechanisms, we examine the effect of two commercial transition metal nitrides, TaN and TiN, on the dehydrogenation performance of Li–Mg–N–H system. Both nitrides are catalytically active for accelerating the dehydrogenation reaction of this system. Such catalytic enhancement well persists without hydrogen capacity loss. A catalytic mechanism is proposed with reference to the catalytic model for hydrotreating reactions by transition metal nitrides.