Dehydrogenation properties of LaCl3 catalyzed NaAlH4 complex hydrides

The effect of LaCl3 dopant on the dehydrogenation properties of complex hydride NaAlH4 has been investigated. The powder mixtures of NaAlH4 and LaCl3 were prepared by dry ball milling and the microstructure of powder mixture after milling and dehydrogenation were characterized by XRD and SEM. It was shown that the LaCl3 dopants could markedly enhance the dehydriding kinetic performance of NaAlH4, especially the first decomposition reaction. The 5-h milled NaAlH4–2 mol% LaCl3 mixture achieved 3.0 wt% hydrogen release in less than 2 h at a temperature of 120 °C.