Mechanism for formation of NaBH4 proposed as low-pressure process for storing hydrogen in borosilicate glass-sodium solid system: A hydrogen storage material

Abstract

The mechanism for the formation of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) was investigated for its ability to store hydrogen in the borosilicate glass-sodium (BSG-Na) solid system under low hydrogen pressure. BSG, which was prepared by melting borax with silica, was used as the starting material in the BSG-Na system that would be prepared to store hydrogen. It was observed that the mechanism for storing hydrogen in the BSG-Na solid system consisted of six steps and when the BSG-Na system was heated under a pressure of 4 atm, which was created through the use of hydrogen atmosphere, the storage of hydrogen occurred at nearly 480°C for approximate duration of 200 min, with the excellent yield (97%). In addition, the hydrogen storage capacity of the NaBH4 sample was measured using the Au-PS structure, which was designed as a mini-hydrogen cell. It was determined that the minimum amount of NaBH4 to generate the maximum volume of hydrogen gas was 12 mg/ml at 270 mV. © Indian Academy of Sciences.