A wet loading method was developed to produce nano-sized LiBH4 combined with nano-SiO2 templates. The multicomponent LiBH4/SiO2 material synthesized by the wet method has been found to dehydrogenate at much lower temperatures than the pure LiBH4, as well as LiBH4/SiO2 mixtures prepared by ball milling. For example, the onset of dehydrogenation was decreased to about 200 °C for a wet-treated LiBH4/SiO2 mixture with a mass ratio of 1:1, and the majority of the hydrogen could be released below 350 °C. The improved dehydrogenation of the wet-treated LiBH4/SiO2 mixtures can be attributed to the destabilization of SiO2, resulting in the formation of lithium metasilicate (Li2SiO3) upon heating, and the confinement of LiBH4 to form nanoscale particles.

Effect of nano ZnO on the hydrogen absorption performance of Ti-30V-15Mn-15Cr alloy was investigated. It was found that a small amount addition of nano ZnO (3 wt%) drastically improves the hydrogen absorption property of this alloy powder. The modification enables the air-exposed powder to absorb hydrogen quickly without activation. It could be attributed to the synergetic action of nano ZnO, which might expedite the dissociation of hydrogen on the oxidized alloy surface and play as entrance for hydrogen into the bulk alloy. The fact that nano ZnO addition improves the hydrogen absorption performance of Ti-30V-15Mn-15Cr alloy pioneers a new way for developing highly active Ti-V-based body-centered-cubic phase alloys.