Theoretical Study of the Metal-Controlled Dehydrogenation Mechanism of MN₂H₃BH₃ (M = Li, Na, K): A New Family of Hydrogen Storage Material

Metal hydrazineboranes (MHBs), as a kind of new hydrogen storage materials, show excellent hydrogen storage performance and dehydrogenation properties. Herein, we designed multiple dehydrogenation pathways to compare the metal-controlled effect. Quantum chemistry theory is used to calculate the crystal structure for determining the molecular structure. With an increase of the metal radius, the energy difference of the isomers also increases. The dehydrogenation pathways of lithium hydrazineborane (path A) and sodium hydrazineborane (path B) appear totally similar to each other in the dehydrogenation process despite the energy barrier, as well as the comparison paths A′ (for LiHB) and B′ (for NaHB). In contrast with LiHB and NaHB, the tautomeric reaction occurs in the potassium hydrazineborane (KHB) first, and the following dehydrogenation path is similar to that of the LiHB and NaHB. It explores the hydrogen-release properties of the different metal hydrazineboranes and also indcates the affection of the metal in the metal hydrazineboranes hydrogen-storage system.