Influence of nano-confinement on the thermodynamics and dehydrogenation kinetics of metal hydrides

Nano-confinement within porous scaffold hosts holds promise for favorably altering the thermodynamics and dehydrogenation kinetics of metal hydrides used to reversibly store hydrogen for transportation applications. This review covers recent work investigating the influence of nano-confinement on the hydrogen exchange rates, the reaction pathways, and the equilibrium hydrogen pressure of light element and complex anion hydrides. Nano-confined NaAlH4, MgH2, LiBH4, and LiBH4/MgH2 are discussed in detail. Consideration is also given to the practical aspects of the additional mass and volume associated with confinement using scaffold hosts. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.