Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage
Two highly ordered porous Al scaffolds were synthesized by applying a soft template assisted electrodeposition method, using an ionic liquid as the electrolyte. Polystyrene (PS) spheres with an average diameter of 399 ± 2 nm or 89 ± 20 nm were deposited on a polished Cu electrode using a dip-coater....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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The Electrochemical Society, Inc
2018
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150101708 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68839 |
| _version_ | 1848761902678671360 |
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| author | Sofianos, Veronica Sheppard, Drew Silvester, Debbie Lee, Junqiao Paskevicius, Mark Humphries, Terry Buckley, Craig |
| author_facet | Sofianos, Veronica Sheppard, Drew Silvester, Debbie Lee, Junqiao Paskevicius, Mark Humphries, Terry Buckley, Craig |
| author_sort | Sofianos, Veronica |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Two highly ordered porous Al scaffolds were synthesized by applying a soft template assisted electrodeposition method, using an ionic liquid as the electrolyte. Polystyrene (PS) spheres with an average diameter of 399 ± 2 nm or 89 ± 20 nm were deposited on a polished Cu electrode using a dip-coater. An imidazolium-based ionic liquid mixed with aluminium chloride [EMIm]/AlCl3 (40/60 mol%) was used as the electrolyte for the Al electrodeposition. The PS spheres that were used as a soft template were removed after the Al electrodeposition method by chemically dissolving them in tetrahydrofuran (THF). Lithium borohydride (LiBH4) was then melt-infiltrated into the porous Al scaffold. Morphological observations of the dip-coated Cu electrodes with the PS spheres, the as-synthesized porous Al scaffolds, and the LiBH4 melt-infiltrated samples were carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The scaffolds exhibited a highly ordered porous Al structure with an open network of pores and an average pore size of 355 ± 25 and 56 ± 20 nm respectively. The porous Al acts as a reactive scaffold which interacts with LiBH4 at elevated temperature. Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) experiments revealed that the melt-infiltrated LiBH4 samples exhibited faster H2 desorption kinetics in comparison to the bulk material. In particular, the 56 ± 20 nm Al scaffold showed a H2 desorption onset temperature (Tdes) at 100°C which is 250°C lower than for bulk LiBH4. This temperature drop can be attributed to the size reduction of LiBH4 down to the nanoscale, together with the high contact surface area with the Al scaffold. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:39:03Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-68839 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:39:03Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | The Electrochemical Society, Inc |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-688392023-06-06T09:24:37Z Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage Sofianos, Veronica Sheppard, Drew Silvester, Debbie Lee, Junqiao Paskevicius, Mark Humphries, Terry Buckley, Craig Two highly ordered porous Al scaffolds were synthesized by applying a soft template assisted electrodeposition method, using an ionic liquid as the electrolyte. Polystyrene (PS) spheres with an average diameter of 399 ± 2 nm or 89 ± 20 nm were deposited on a polished Cu electrode using a dip-coater. An imidazolium-based ionic liquid mixed with aluminium chloride [EMIm]/AlCl3 (40/60 mol%) was used as the electrolyte for the Al electrodeposition. The PS spheres that were used as a soft template were removed after the Al electrodeposition method by chemically dissolving them in tetrahydrofuran (THF). Lithium borohydride (LiBH4) was then melt-infiltrated into the porous Al scaffold. Morphological observations of the dip-coated Cu electrodes with the PS spheres, the as-synthesized porous Al scaffolds, and the LiBH4 melt-infiltrated samples were carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The scaffolds exhibited a highly ordered porous Al structure with an open network of pores and an average pore size of 355 ± 25 and 56 ± 20 nm respectively. The porous Al acts as a reactive scaffold which interacts with LiBH4 at elevated temperature. Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) experiments revealed that the melt-infiltrated LiBH4 samples exhibited faster H2 desorption kinetics in comparison to the bulk material. In particular, the 56 ± 20 nm Al scaffold showed a H2 desorption onset temperature (Tdes) at 100°C which is 250°C lower than for bulk LiBH4. This temperature drop can be attributed to the size reduction of LiBH4 down to the nanoscale, together with the high contact surface area with the Al scaffold. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68839 10.1149/2.0481802jes http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150101708 The Electrochemical Society, Inc restricted |
| spellingShingle | Sofianos, Veronica Sheppard, Drew Silvester, Debbie Lee, Junqiao Paskevicius, Mark Humphries, Terry Buckley, Craig Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title | Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title_full | Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title_fullStr | Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title_short | Electrochemical Synthesis of Highly Ordered Porous Al Scaffolds Melt-Infiltrated with LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage |
| title_sort | electrochemical synthesis of highly ordered porous al scaffolds melt-infiltrated with libh4 for hydrogen storage |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150101708 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68839 |