[Ca(BH4)2]n clusters as hydrogen storage material: A DFT study

Abstract

Calcium borohydride is widely studied as a hydrogen storage material. However, investigations on calcium borohydride from a cluster perspective are seldom found. The geometric structures and binding energies of [Ca(BH₄)₂]_n (n = 1–4) clusters are determined using density function theory (DFT). For the most stable structures, vibration frequency, natural bond orbital (NBO) are calculated and discussed. The charge transfer from (BH₄) to Ca was observed. Meanwhile, we also study the LUMO–HOMO gap (E_g) and the B–H bond dissociation energies (BDEs). [Ca(BH₄)₂]₃ owns higher E_g, revealing that trimer is more stable than the other forms. Structures don’t change during optimization after hydrogen radical removal, showing that calcium borohydride could possibly be used as a reversible hydrogen storage material. [Ca(BH₄)₂]₄ has the smallest dissociation energy suggesting it releases hydrogen more easily than others.