Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Magnesium hydride

MineMan - 2-11-2016 at 08:16

Hello all,

I am here in the states, I cannot seem to find an online supplier, or local supplier for magnesium hydride. I am looking for 100grams and upwards. Any suggestions?

I cannot find zirconium hydride either....

Dr.Bob - 2-11-2016 at 09:33

I can find several with just Goggle for Magnesium hydride, it is a hydrogen source, just like CaH2, but more expensive. Can't imagine much it would do better than CaH2, which is easy to find.

Zirconium hydride appears to mostly be used in nuclear reactors moderators, so it may be a regulated material in any real amount. The US is likely trying to keep it away from North Korea and Iran. It must be fun to work with given how reactive/flammable zirconium is on its own.

clearly_not_atara - 3-11-2016 at 10:05

The preparation of magnesium hydride that we found in the OTC borohydride threads stated that the product was pyrophoric. Perhaps MgH2 made by other methods is less flammable but I have to assume it is still pretty dangerous to ship especially in 100g quantities. As the prep is facile you may wish to just order the precursors: Mg, EtI, THF, anthracene, and H2.

MineMan - 3-11-2016 at 10:45

Ahh well I was going to use both in pyrotechnic applications. Can it be much more flammable than magnesium powder?

Huh, I did a google search and could not find any sellers except sigma Aldrich... which is super pricey.

zed - 3-11-2016 at 14:06

Mg Hydride? Yeah, it is a lot more flammable than Mg Powder. Ignited by H20, it is.

Calcium Hydride, for some reason, can be directly decomposed with H2O, and not burst into flames.

Sometimes, Calcium Hydride can be obtained economically