Solid-state 27Al NMR investigation of thermal decomposition of LiAlH4

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance is used to study the thermal decomposition of lithium tetrahydroaluminate into metallic aluminum, hydrogen and trilithium hexahydroaluminate. Aluminum sites in LiAlH4 and Li3AlH6 were characterized using static, magic angle spinning (MAS) and multiple-quantum MAS NMR. By applying the in situ NMR method, it has been demonstrated that melting is not a prerequisite for the decomposition of LiAlH4. Based on the observed data, a decomposition path has been established that is consistent with the concentrations of observed Al species at various stages of the thermally induced reaction. Published by Elsevier Inc.