Hydrogen trapping ability of the pyridine-lithium⁺ (1:1) complex.

Theoretical studies have been carried out at different levels of theory to verify the hydrogen adsorption characteristics of pyridine-lithium ion (1:1) complexes. The nature of interactions associated with the bonding between pyridine and lithium as well as that between lithium and adsorbed molecular hydrogen is studied through the calculation of electron density and electron-density-based reactivity descriptors. The pyridine-lithium ion complex has been hydrogenated systematically around the lithium site, and each lithium site is found to adsorb a maximum of four hydrogen molecules with an interaction energy of ∼-4.0 kcal/mol per molecule of H2. The fate of the hydrogen adsorbed in a pyridine-lithium ion complex (corresponding to the maximum adsorption) is studied in the course of a 2 ps time evolution through ab initio molecular dynamics simulation at different temperatures. The results reveal that the complex can hold a maximum of four hydrogen molecules at a temperature of 77 K, whereas it can hold only two molecules of hydrogen at 298 K.