A novel nanoporous Mg-Li material for efficient hydrogen generation

•Nanoporous Mg-Li material is successfully prepared for the first time.•This material can deliver 962 ml g−1 H2 in 15 min at 0 °C and in 3 min at 50 °C.•The advances come from the nanoporous structure and the addition of li element.•The growth mechanism of the nanoporous Mg-Li material is proposed.