Effect of MoS2 on hydrogenation storage properties of LiBH4

The hydrogen storage properties of LiBH4 ball milled with 20 wt% MoS2 have been investigated. It shows that the LiBH4 doped with MoS2 exhibits favorable hydrogenation and dehydrogenation properties in terms of decomposition temperature and hydriding/dehydriding reversibility. The sample with MoS2 starts to release hydrogen at 230 °C and has a decrease of 80 °C in contrast with pristine LiBH4. Furthermore, for the second cycle, the LiBH4 with MoS2 maintains a reversible hydrogen storage capacity of about 8.0 wt% which is almost identical with the first cycle under 5 MPa at 550 °C. Analyzed by the XRD and the FTIR results, LiBH4 can be regenerated after re-hydrogenation under a relatively mild condition by adding MoS2. The improvement of the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation properties mainly results from the formation of Li2S and MoB2 during ball milling. -- Graphical abstract: Hydrogen absorption curves of LiBH4 doped with MoS2 for five cycles at 400 °C. Highlights: • The hydrogen absorption capacity is nearly the same for 5 cycles at 400 °C. • The sample with MoS2 starts to release hydrogen at 230 °C. • The coexistence of MoB2 and Li2S catalyzes the decomposition of LiBH4