Regeneration of Aluminum Hydride Using Trimethylamine

Abstract

Aluminum hydride is an attractive reducing agent and energy storage compound possessing a low decomposition temperature and a high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen density. However, it is thermodynamically unstable at room temperature and requires extremely high pressures to form the hydride from aluminum and hydrogen gas. Here, we describe an alternate method of synthesizing AlH{sub 3} using Ti-catalyzed Al powder, H{sub 2}, and trimethylamine (TMA) to form an alane adduct. The formation of trimethylamine alane occurs at modest hydrogen pressures ({approx}100 bar), forming the 2:1 bis complex (2 trimethylamine/AlH{sub 3}). Along with the hydrogenation product, mono (1:1) and bis (2:1) standards of TMA-AlH{sub 3} were prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the reaction products showed that the Ti catalyst remains with the unreacted Al powder after hydrogenation and is not present in the alane adduct. We also demonstrate that TMA can be transaminated with triethylamine to form triethylamine alane, which can easily be separated to recover AlH{sub 3}.