Patent ID: 7544837

Claim:
A method of thermolytically dehydrogenating an amine-borane, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one amine-borane, wherein the amine-borane has the formula R 1 H 2 N—BH 2 R 2 ; where R 1 and R 2 are independently one of H, an alkyl group, or an aryl group; b) providing at least one base metal catalyst selected from the group consisting of manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, and copper and combinations thereof; c) combining the at least one base metal catalyst and the at least one amine-borane, wherein the base metal catalyst reacts with the at least one amine-borane to release hydrogen and yield at least one of an aminoborane oligomer and an iminoborane oligomer; and d) heating at least one of the aminoborane oligomer and the iminoborane oligomer to a predetermined temperature.