Nanoconfinement and Catalytic Dehydrogenation of Ammonia Borane by Magnesium‐Metal–Organic‐Framework‐74

Abstract

Ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) has recently received much attention as a promising hydrogen-storage medium among a very large number of candidate materials because of its satisfactory air stability, relatively low molecular mass (30.7 gmol ), and remarkably high energy-storage densities (gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen capacities are 19.6wt% and 140 gL , respectively). However, the direct use of pristine AB as a hydrogen energy carrier in onboard/fuel-cell applications is prevented by its very slow dehydrogenation kinetics below 100 8C and the concurrent release of detrimental volatile by-products such as ammonia, borazine, and diborane. Many different methods have been adopted to promote efficient H2 generation from AB, including catalytic hydrolysis in aqueous solution, ionic liquids, organic solvents, and thermodynamic modifications by formation of hybrid structures with transition metals, alkali-, or alkaline-earth metal/hydrides, 12] or nanoconfined phases using porous scaffolds. However, many of these methods rely on the usage of heavy metal catalysts, aqueous or nonaqueous solutions, and ionic liquids, all of which make the hydrogen density of the systems unacceptably low for practical applications. Furthermore, the vigorous reactions, hygroscopic properties, and water solubility of borohydrides have negative impacts on the dehydrogenation performance and make it difficult to control the release of hydrogen. The other approach is made, in particular, nanocomposition of AB within porous scaffoldings. However, systems still suffers one or more of the followings: either the nanocomposite is heavier or cannot prevent the generation of all the volatile by-products. Hence, more work needs to be done to explore the potential role that catalysts can play to further improve the controllable H2-release kinetics under moderate conditions while at the same time preventing the generation of detrimental byproducts. Over the past few years, porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising multifaceted materials, combining such functions as catalytic activity, 24] shape-selectivity, templating, and purification. Crystalline MOF structures are composed of metal sites linked to organic ligands, yielding three-dimensional extended frameworks that often possess considerable porosity. In principle, the combination of nanoporosity and active metal sites in MOFs makes them potentially useful materials for promoting the decomposition of AB. However, until now, such a use of MOFs has been rare and any future success would depend crucially on the particular choices of a suitable metal center, pore structure, and thermal stability. For instance, Li et al. were the first to show that Y-based MOF as a solid state decomposition agent for AB. The main drawback of AB-Y-MOF is largely added weight due to the heavy Y metal. In addition, for the given very narrow pore structure of Y-MOF, as low as approximately 8 wt% of AB loading is achieved for the reported 1:1 mole ratio. Thus, it is highly desirable to have a light weight MOF with stable and suitable nanopore channels that can hold more than one AB molecule. Herein, we show that the porous MgMOF-74 (Mg2ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(DOBDC), DOBDC=2, 5-dioxido-1, 4-benzenedicarboxylate) is a promising candidate for nanoconfinement and catalytic decomposition of AB for clean and efficient H2 generation. Mg-MOF-74 has a rigid framework, composed of one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal channels (Figure 1a) with a nominal diameter of approximately 12 running parallel to the DOBDC ligands. In as-synthesized material, the Mg cations are coordinated with five oxygen atoms from the DOBDC ligands and one oxygen atom from a terminal water molecule. However, upon heating under vacuum, the terminal water molecules can be easily removed, leading to unsaturated (open) Mg metal sites (decorated on the edges of the hexagonal pore channels) with an open pore structure of high surface area (>1000 mg ). The open Mg metal sites play a vital role in enhanced binding of various gas molecules (H2, CH4, C2H2, NO, etc. ) and successfully used to promote molecular separation. Figure 1b represents AB confinement within the MOF pores as obtained [a] Dr. S. Gadipelli, Dr. J. Ford, Dr. W. Zhou, Dr. H. Wu, Dr. T. J. Udovic, Dr. T. Yildirim NIST Center for Neutron Research Gaithersburg MD 20899-6102 (USA) Fax: (+1)301-921-9847 E-mail : taner@seas.upenn.edu gsrini@seas.upenn.edu [b] Dr. S. Gadipelli, Dr. J. Ford, Dr. T. Yildirim Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, 19104 (USA) [c] Dr. W. Zhou, Dr. H. Wu Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Maryland, College Park MD, 20742 (USA) Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201100090.