Mechano-chemical Synthesis of NaAlH4 : Optimization of Reaction Conditions

NaAlH4 was mechano-chemically synthesized with high energy ball-milling method. The effect of synthesis conditions such as milling time, H-2 pressure, chloride catalysts, and solvents was investigated to enhance the synthesis of NaAlH4. Among the chloride catalysts, TiCl4 showed the highest H-2 pressure decrease which means the highest NaH conversion to NaAlH4. Furthermore, when the NaAlH4 was synthesized with THF solvent, it exhibited the higher H-2 pressure decrease than that of sample prepared without THF solvent. This is mainly due to the synergy effect of TiCl4 catalyst and THF solvent.