Mechanical and thermal decomposition of with metal halides

In the present paper, we investigate the thermal and mechanical decomposition of lithium alanate ( LiAlH 4 ) milled with different metal-halides ( VCl 3 , VBr 3 and AlCl 3 ) . We observed that the thermal decomposition temperature of LiAlH 4 does not depend on the metal–halide and it is decreased by 25 ∘ C as compared to LiAlH 4 without additives. Moreover, metal halides enhance the decomposition of LiAlH 4 and Li 3 AlH 6 . The ability of the metal halides to decompose LiAlH 4 and Li 3 AlH 6 during milling follows the order: VCl 3 > VBr 3 > AlCl 3 . X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy did not allow detecting any change on the cell volume or on Al–H bond of the doped alanate suggesting that the additives seem to do not act as substitutes into the lattice of the alanate.