Aluminium hydride (AlH3) is a promising solid-state hydrogen storage material due to its high theoretical capacity of 10.1 wt.% H2. However, its practical use is limited by a high decomposition onset temperature and slow desorption kinetics. This study introduces titanium silicate (TiSiO4) as a novel catalytic dopant to address these challenges. A composite of 10 wt.% TiSiO4–AlH3 was prepared via planetary ball milling under an argon atmosphere. The dehydrogenation behavior was systematically investigated using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), isothermal kinetics measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The incorporation of TiSiO4 profoundly enhanced the dehydrogenation performance. TPD revealed that the onset temperature for hydrogen release dropped from 127 °C for milled AlH3 to below 50 °C—a reduction exceeding 77 °C. Isothermal desorption at 60 °C showed that the doped composite released about 2.1 wt.% H2 within the first hour, while the undoped material was nearly inert. Kissinger analysis of DSC data indicated a substantial decrease in the apparent activation energy by 46.6 kJ/mol, confirming a lowered kinetic barrier. Mechanistic studies revealed a synergistic two-part effect of TiSiO4. Although not directly detected by XRD due to its low content and possible amorphous nature, TiSiO4 is proposed to electronically polarize and weaken Al–H bonds at the surface, facilitating initial bond cleavage. Simultaneously, SEM and XRD evidence indicates that TiSiO4 acts as a nanostructuring agent, dispersing AlH3 into finer particles during milling and heating. This creates a nanoconfinement effect that shortens hydrogen diffusion paths, suppresses agglomeration of AlH3 and metallic Al during decomposition, and provides nucleation sites for Al formation—a critical step in the decomposition pathway. In summary, TiSiO4 doping introduces a dual catalytic and nanoconfinement mechanism that destabilizes AlH3, significantly lowers its decomposition temperature, and accelerates hydrogen release kinetics. This work not only identifies TiSiO4 as an effective catalyst for AlH3 but also provides a mechanistic framework that highlights the value of composite design in advancing metal hydrides for practical hydrogen storage.
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TiSiO4 as a Catalytic Dopant for Lowering the Decomposition Temperature and Improve Kinetics of AlH3 for Solid-State Hydrogen Storage
Published:
07 May 2026
by MDPI
in The 3rd International Online Conference on Energies
session Advanced Energy Materials
Abstract:
Keywords: Hydrogen storage; aluminium hydride; catalytic effect; titanium silicate
