THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS ENHANCEMENT OF LiNH2- MgH2 SYSTEMS USING ALKALI METAL HYDRIDE DOPANTS FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE by TOLULOPE

ii DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation work to Almighty God and my deceased dad Isaac Durojaiye. To my mom, Florence Durojaiye for her prayers. To my lovely wife and son; Susan and Moyo for their unwavering support, patience and understanding. To my siblings, Olaolu, Titi, Seun, Seye and their families. You all are special. I also dedicate this dissertation to my many friends and church family who have supported me throughout the process. The Sabitu, Orefuwa and Ojo family, you all are awesome. To my friends and the Chemistry who gave me all the support and love I needed throughout my stay at the University and in the course of this dissertation. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I give all glory to God, the author, the beginning and the end of this dissertation for seeing me through. I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Andrew Goudy who has the attitude and substance of a genius for his all round support. Without is guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been possible. support and input. You all are special. Thanks to families like The Durojaiye, Orekoya, Kukoyi and Shuaib for their words of encouragement and prayers. Special thanks to mother of the Chemistry Department Mrs. Leida Sanchez for your support throughout my research and during my stay at the University. You are a true mother. ABSTRACT The LiNH 2 /MgH 2 systems, either in ratio 1:1 or 2:1, are promising hydrogen storage materials due to their high hydrogen storage capacities, potential reversibility and moderate operating conditions. The effects of some selected non-transition metal hydride additives (KH, RbH and CsH) were investigated on these systems. KH showed to be more effective for lowering the desorption temperature and increasing the desorption rates of the 2:1 mixtures than the 1:1 mixtures. The desorption rates of the 2:1 mixture was enhanced by ~25 times when doped with KH. The KH has no effect on the desorption rates of the 1:1 mixtures. The effects of the various selected non-transition metal hydrides on the 2:1 mixtures were also investigated and compared. All the additives proved to be effective for lowering the desorption temperature, reducing the enthalpy and increasing the desorption rates of the 2:1 mixture; hence they are referred to as " catalytic additives ". Using constant pressure thermodynamics driving forces of N = 10 and at 210 o C, the kinetics results …