Light metal hydrides – Potential hydrogen storage materials

Abstract Light metal nitride phases Li 3 BN 2 and Mg 3 BN 3 have been synthesised as potential hydrogen storage materials. The formation processes using boron nitride and amorphous boron have been compared, showing that boron extracts nitrogen from the Li 3 N and Mg 3 N 2 reactant phases and not from the nitrogen gas. This rate limiting solid state reaction is the first in a three step reaction sequence to form these ternary nitrides. The sensitivity of the reactions to low levels of impurity oxygen in the flow gas caused us to develop a closed reaction system methodology using nickel foil capsules.