Pyrolytic/solvothermal synthesis of tubular g-C₃N₄@NiFe-layered double hydroxide for catalytic enhancement of hydrogen storage in LiAlH₄

Abstract

LiAlH₄ is hindered for practical hydrogen storage by its high decomposition temperatures, slow kinetics, and poor reversibility. To address the kinetic issues, this study introduces a tubular g-C₃N₄-supported NiFe-layered double hydroxide (g-C₃N₄@NiFe-LDH) nanocomposite as a catalytic dopant for LiAlH₄. The composite, synthesized via solvothermal and pyrolysis methods, features a well-defined tubular morphology (∼3 µm in length, ∼200 nm in diameter), which facilitates its homogeneous dispersion and intimate interfacial contact with LiAlH₄ during ball milling. Doping with 7wt% of this catalyst dramatically enhances the dehydrogenation kinetics of LiAlH₄. The onset dehydrogenation temperature is lowered to 79.2°C, and 6.8wt% of hydrogen is released in two steps. Kissinger analysis reveals that the apparent activation energies for these steps are reduced by 43.0% and 54.8%, respectively, demonstrating significantly improved dehydrogenation kinetics. Mechanistic studies suggest that the synergistic effect between the g-C₃N₄ support and NiFe-LDH, along with the potential in-situ formation of active interfacial species during dehydrogenation, contributes to this improvement.

Keywords

hydrogen storage materials / dehydrogenation kinetics / NiFe-layered double hydroxide / catalytic enhancement

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