Materials Science Forum, Vol.377, 77-83, 2001
Bimetallic catalyst effect on the sorption properties of nanocrystalline MgH2 hydride
In this work, we have investigated the hydriding/dehydriding properties and the effect of prolonged cycling done under pure hydrogen on the performance of nanostructured Mg-V-Ti composite synthesised by ball milling. The hydrogen charge and discharge characteristics of the nanocomposite hydride has been tested at 300 degreesC using up to 1000 cycles. The comparison of the hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and the pressure-concentration-isotherms curves, measured before and after 1000 cycles, reveals no significant change in the kinetics and thermodynamic properties of the MgH2-V-Ti composite. However, a clear improvement in the cyclable hydrogen capacity was observed. SEM, X-ray and BET specific surface area characterisations reveal that the nanocrystalline Mg based composite exhibits an improved decrepitation resistance upon cycling.