B.S. Centenary College of Louisiana (1967) Ph.D. Indiana University (1971) Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Virginia (1971-73) Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1973-74)

Inorganic

Our research in inorganic chemistry, energy-storage and materials science includes synthetic studies in main-group, transition metal and materials chemistry along with physical and structural investigations of molecular, polymeric, and solid-state materials. Brief overviews of ongoing projects are presented in the following sections.

Alternative Energy Carriers: New Chemical Methods for Hydrogen Storage

The development of efficient methods for hydrogen storage is a major hurdle that must be overcome to enable the use of hydrogen as an alternative energy carrier. We are exploring the use of chemical hydrides such as ammonia borane and ammonia triborane to store and deliver large amounts of hydrogen through dehydrogenation and/or hydrolysis reactions. As depicted in the example in Figure 1, we have shown that the rate and the extent of hydrogen release from these amineboranes can be significantly increased through the use of metal catalysts, ionic liquids and/or chemical additives. We are continuing to investigate both new methods for the controlled hydrogen release from amineboranes and the development of energy-efficient methods for their regeneration from spent-fuel products.