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The Inside‐Outs of Metal Hydride Dehydrogenation: Imaging the Phase Evolution of the Li‐N‐H Hydrogen Storage System
Author(s) -
White James L.,
Baker Alexander A.,
Marcus Matthew A.,
Snider Jonathan L.,
Wang Timothy C.,
Lee Jonathan R. I.,
Kilcoyne David A. L.,
Allendorf Mark D.,
Stavila Vitalie,
El Gabaly Farid
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201901905
Subject(s) - dehydrogenation , hydrogen storage , lithium amide , materials science , lithium hydride , hydride , hydrogen , lithium (medication) , phase (matter) , metal , chemical engineering , diffusion , inorganic chemistry , amide , alloy , catalysis , metallurgy , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , ion , chemistry , medicine , engineering , endocrinology , ionic bonding , enantioselective synthesis , physics
Complex metal hydrides provide high‐density hydrogen storage, which is essential for vehicular applications. However, the practical application of these materials is limited by thermodynamic and kinetic barriers present during the dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation processes as new phases form inside parent phases. An improved understanding of the mixed‐phase mesostructures and their interfaces will assist in improving cyclability. In this work, the phase evolution during hydrogenation of lithium nitride and dehydrogenation of lithium amide with lithium hydride is probed with scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy at the nitrogen K edge. With this technique, core–shell structures are observed in particles of both partially hydrogenated Li 3 N and partially dehydrogenated LiNH 2 + 2LiH. To generate these structures, the rate‐limiting step must shift from internal hydrogen diffusion during hydrogenation to the formation of hydrogen gas at the surface during desorption.