・Date: 16:00 5th Jul, 2018
・Place: Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima Campus, School of Engineering. Conference Room 110
・Speaker: Prof. Bjorn Hauback, Department Head, Physics Department, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway
・Title: Rare-earth borohydrides – Crystal structures and thermal properties

・Abstracts: Metal borohydrides have been extensively investigated over the last years
both as potential hydrogen storage materials and as solid state electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. During the last years our interest has been directed to the synthesis and properties of transition metal- and rare-earth (RE) borohydrides with different metal atoms and in some cases with anion substitution. This work presents detailed studies of the crystal structures and thermal properties of RE-borohydrides. These compounds show a big structural variety with anion substation, polymorphism, difference in coordination numbers and multiple oxidation states. The thermal decomposition of the mixtures has been studied by in situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis / differential scanning calorimetry and temperature programmed desorption. Composites with RE-borohydrides and LiBH4/LiH could be cycled at relatively mild conditions.