An Amine-Borane System Featuring Room-Temperature Dehydrogenation and Regeneration

Amine-borane complexes have been extensively studied as hydrogen storage materials. Herein, we report a new amine-borane system featuring a reversible dehydrogenation and regeneration at room temperature. In addition to high purity H-2, the reaction between ethylenediamine bisborane (EDAB) and ethylenediamine (ED) leads to unique boron-carbon-nitrogen 5-membered rings in the dehydrogenation product where one boron is tricoordinated by three nitrogen atoms. Owing to the unique cyclic structure, the dehydrogenation product can be efficiently converted back to EDAB by NaBH4 and H2O at room temperature. This finding could lead to the discovery of new amine boranes with potential usage as hydrogen storage materials.

Automated summary

A new amine-borane system with reversible dehydrogenation and regeneration at room temperature has been discovered, producing unique dehydrogenation products with a distinct cyclic structure that can be easily converted back to the original amine-borane. This finding may pave the way for the discovery of new amine-boranes with potential applications as hydrogen storage materials.