title: Catalytic modification in dehydrogenation properties of KSiH3.
abstract: A number of known catalysts, which have been proven to be very effective for several hydrogen species, were studied in order to determine their effects on the hydrogen ab/desorption properties of KSiH3. Among all the catalysts used in this work, mesoporous Nb2O5 is found to be quite effective, with a reduction in activation energy from 142 kJ mol(-1) for pristine KSi to 63 kJ mol(-1) for mesoporous-Nb2O5-added KSi, thus allowing desorption to start at 100-120 °C. Any disproportionation is not observed in the controlled hydrogenation process. The mechanism for this improvement is also proposed in detail. The kinetic modifications on the ab/desorption properties of KSiH3 provide an alternative to the well-known family of heavy BCC alloys which are capable of working in the same temperature range but with a lower gravimetric hydrogen content, almost half of the KSi system.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Materials Research, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan. ankur.j.ankur@gmail.com tichi@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Ankur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyaoka
authors.forename: Yoshitsugu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kojima