Huaqin Kou

Formation mechanism of MgB2 in 2LiBH4 + MgH2 system for reversible hydrogen storage

The formation conditions of MgB2 in 2LiBH4 + MgH2 system during dehydrogenation were investigated and its mechanism was discussed. The results show that direct decomposition of LiBH4 is suppressed under relative higher initial dehydrogenation pressure of 4.0×105 Pa, wherein LiBH4 reacts with Mg to yield MgB2, and 9.16% (mass fraction) hydrogen is released within 9.6 h at 450 °C. However, under relatively lower initial dehydrogenation pressure of 1.0×102 Pa, LiBH4 decomposes independently instead of reacting with Mg, resulting in no formation of MgB2, and 7.91% hydrogen is desorbed within 5.2 h at 450 °C. It is found that the dehydrogenation of 2LiBH4 + MgH2 system proceeds more completely and more hydrogen desorption amount can be obtained within a definite time by forming MgB2. Furthermore, it is proposed that the formation process of MgB2 includes incubation period and nucleus growth process. Experimental results show that the formation process of MgB2, especially the incubation period, is promoted by increasing initial dehydrogenation pressure at constant temperature, and the incubation period is also influenced greatly by dehydrogenation temperature.

Structural and Kinetic Hydrogen Sorption Properties of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co Alloy Prepared by Ball Milling

The effects of ball milling on the hydrogen sorption kinetics and microstructure of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co have been systematically studied. Kinetic measurements show that the hydrogenation rate and amount of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co decrease with increasing the ball milling time. However, the dehydrogenation rate accelerates as the ball milling time increases. Meanwhile, the disproportionation of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co speeds up after ball milling and the disproportionation kinetics is clearly inclined to be linear with time at 500°C. It is found from X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results that the lattice parameter of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co gradually decreases from 3.164 Å to 3.153 Å when the ball milling time extends from 0 h to 8 h, which is mainly responsible for the hydrogen absorption/desorption behaviors. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate that the morphology of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co has obviously changed after ball milling, which is closely related to the hydrogen absorption kinetics. Besides, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images show that a large number of disordered microstructures including amorphous regions and defects exist after ball milling, which also play an important role in hydrogen sorption performances. This work will provide some insights into the principles of how to further improve the hydrogen sorption kinetics and disproportionation property of Zr0.8Ti0.2Co.