Metal-hydrogen complexes such as NaAlH4, KBH4, and NaBH4 are known as high
H-content materials The highly reactive natures of these materials against
moist air and water can be easily stabilized in aqueous KOH and NaOH soluti
ons. Accordingly, it is required to develop catalysts suitable for generati
ng hydrogen from the stabilized metal-hydrogen complexes in alkaline soluti
ons.
This work is aimed at developing catalysts that can generate hydrogen from
such solutions with considerably high kinetics under moderate temperature a
nd pressure conditions.
We have found that Mg2Ni, a typical high-temperature hydriding alloy, exhib
its excellent functions as a catalyst for the hydrolysis of BH4--ion-contai
ning solutions. The fluorination-treatment (F-treatment) effects on granula
r particles of Mg2Ni and Mg2NiH4 are reported in this paper.