In-situ synthesized lithium borohydride composite with dual-catalyst synergistic modification for enhancing hydrogen storage performance

Lithium borohydride (LiBH 4 ) is a promising high-density hydrogen storage material, but its practical application is hindered by high dehydrogenation temperatures, slow kinetics, and poor stability. Catalytic modification is an effective strategy to overcome these limitations. In this work, a LiBH 4 -based composite co-modified with 20 wt% Ni and 10 wt% BN (denoted as LiBH 4 @20Ni10BN) was synthesized via one-step ball milling. The LiBH 4 @20Ni10BN begins to dehydrogenate at 230 °C and releases 7.1 wt% H 2 at 350 °C. Moreover, it rapidly desorbs 4.9 wt% H 2 within 60 min at 320 °C. The performance improvement is attributed to the synergistic catalysis of Ni and BN, where BN weakens the B–H bonds and Ni in situ transforms into the highly active NiB 2 during the first dehydrogenation. The stable BN and newly formed NiB 2 collectively contribute to superior cycling stability, maintaining a reversible capacity of 4.0 wt% after eight cycles.