The Attractiveness of Ammonia Borane to Generate Hydrogen for PEM Fuel Cell Vehicles

Current promising methods to release hydrogen from Ammonia Borane (NH₃BH₃, AB; 19.6 wt% H₂) including neat thermolysis, thermolysis in ionic liquid bmimCl with or without proton sponge, thermolysis with nano-BN and hydrothermolysis, were investigated for hydrogen yield and ammonia formation. It was found that even trace moisture influences AB dehydrogenation significantly. The hydrothermolysis (13.5 wt% H₂, 1 mol% NH₃) at 85^oC and thermolysis in bmimCl with 3 wt% moisture at 110^oC (13 wt% H₂, 0.2 mol% NH₃) methods were found to be the most promising. This study demonstrates that AB dehydrogenation is an attractive approach to generate hydrogen for PEM fuel cell vehicle applications.