Tunable Hydrogen Release from Amine-Boranes via their Insertion into Functional Polystyrenes.

Polystyrene-g-boramine random copolymers are dihydrogen reservoirs with tunable dehydrogenation temperatures, which can be adjusted by selecting the boramine content in the copolymers. They display a unique dihydrogen thermal release profile, which is a direct consequence of the insertion of the amine-boranes in a polymeric scaffold, and not from a direct modification of the electronics or sterics of the amine-borane function. Finally, the mixture of polystyrene-g-boramines with conventional NH3 -BH3 (borazane) allows for a direct access to organic/inorganic hybrid dihydrogen reservoirs with a maximal H2 loading of 8 wt %. These exhibit a dehydrogenation temperature lower than that of either the borazane or the polystyrene-g-boramines taken separately.