Effect of Ni/（La＋Mg） Ratio on Structure and Electrochemical Performance of La-Mg-Ni Alloy System

As the alloy with the most suitable Ni/(La+ Mg) ratio has higher capacity and good cycle stability,theeffects of Ni/(La+Mg) ratios on the electrochemical performances of the La0.80 Mg0.20 Nix (x= 3.5 to 5.0) alloys have been investigated to find the most suitable Ni/(La+ Mg) ratio.The results of XRD and SEM observations show that the phase composition of the alloys varies with different Ni/(La+Mg) ratios.When Ni/(La+Mg) is notmore than 4.25,all the alloys contain LaNi5 and (La,Mg)2Ni7 phases,in addition,the LaMg and (La,Mg)Ni3 phases exist in the x=3.5 and 3.75 alloys,respectively.The LaMg2Ni9 phase exists in the x=4.25 alloy.There are the LaNi5 and LaMg2 Ni9 phases in the x= 4.5,4.75,and 5.0 alloys.The phase abundance and cell volume change with different Ni content.When the Ni/(La+Mg) ratio is not more than 4.25,the alloys possess excellent activation capability,however,the activation capabilities of the alloys decrease with a further increase in the Ni/(La+Mg)ratio.With increasing the Ni/(La+ Mg) ratio,the maximum discharge capacities,the medium voltages,and the cycle stabilities of the alloys first increase and then decrease.When the Ni/(La+Mg) ratio is 3.75,the corresponding alloyhas the maximum discharge capacity among all the alloys.However,the cycle stability of the Ni/(La+ Mg)= 4.0 alloy is better than that of the others.     

Effect of Rapid Quenching on Microstructures and Electrochemical Performances of La2Mg（Ni0.85Co0.15）9M0.1 （M = B, Cr） Hydrogen Storage Alloys

The La-Mg-Ni-system （PuNi3-type） La2Mg （Ni0.85 Co0.15 ）9M0.1 （ M = B, Cr） hydrogen storage etectrode alloys were prepared by casting and rapid quenching. The electrochemical performances and microstructures of the as-cast and quenched alloys were determined and measured. The effects of rapid quenching on the microstructures and electrochemical properties of the alloys were investigated in detail. The obtained results show that the alloys are composed of the （La, Mg） Ni3 phase （PuNi3-type structure） and the LaNi5 phase, as well as the small amount of the LaNi2 phase. A trace of the Ni2B phase exists in the as-cast alloy containing boron, and the Ni2B phase in the alloy nearly disappears after rapid quenching. The relative amount of each phase in the alloys depends on the quenching rate. The rapid quenching technique can greatly improve the electrochemical performance of the alloy, and the effect of rapid quenching on the activation performances of the alloys is minor. Rapid quenching enhances the cycle stability of the alloy, and the cycle life of the alloy increases with the increase of the quenching rate.     

Investigations on hydrogen storage properties of LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 （M=Ni, Cu, Cr） alloys

LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 (M=Ni, Cu, Cr) alloys were prepared by induction melting. X-ray diffraction showed that all the three alloys had a multiphase structure, consisting of La2Mg17, LaMg2Ni and Mg2Ni phases. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer results revealed that most of Cu and Cr distributed in Mg2Ni phase. La2Mg17 and LaMg2Ni phases decomposed into MgH2, Mg2NiH4 and LaH3 phases during the hydrogenation process. Hydriding/dehydriding measurements indicated that the reversible hydrogen storage capacities of Mg2Ni phase in LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 (M=Cu, Cr) alloys increased to 1.05 wt.% and 0.97 wt.% from 0.79 wt.% of Mg2Ni phase in LaMg8.52Ni2.38 alloy at 523 K. Partial substitution of Cu and Cr for Ni decreased the onset dehydrogenation temperature of the alloy hydrides and the temperature lowered by 18.20 and 5.50 K, respectively. The improvement in the dehydrogenation property of the alloys was attributed to that Cu and Cr decreased the stability of Mg2NiH4 phase.     

Electrochemical Behavior of Bulk Amorphous Steel Fe55M2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2（M=Ni, Cu, Nb）

 Fe55Ni2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2,Fe55Cu2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 and Fe55Nb2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 alloys with diameter of 4mm were produced by copper mold casting. The role of alloying additions (Ni, Cu or Nb) on corrosion resistance of Fe55Nb2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2, Fe55Ni2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 and Fe55Cu2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 alloys were studied by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that Fe55Ni2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 and Fe55Cu2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 alloys can be cast into bulk metallic glasses. Fe55Ni2Cr12Mo10B6C13Y2 and     

Effect of praseodymium substitution for lanthanum on structure and properties of La0.65-xPrxNd0.12Mg0.23Ni3.4Al0.1（X=0.00-0.20） hydrogen storage alloys

In order to investigate the effect of substituting La with Pr on structural and hydrogen storage properties of La-Mg-Ni system (AB3.5-type) hydrogen storage alloys, a series of La0.65-xPrxNd0.12Mg0.23Ni3.4Al0.1(x=0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.2) hydrogen storage alloys were prepared. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analyses revealed that two alloys (x=0.0 and 0.10) were composed of (La, Mg)2(Ni,Al)7 phase, La(Ni,Al)5 phase and (La,Mg)Ni2 phase, while other alloys (x=0.15 and 0.20) consisted of (La,Mg)2(Ni,Al)7 phase, La(Ni,Al)5 phase, (La,Mg)Ni2 phase and (La, Mg)(Ni,Al)3 phase. All alloys showed, however, only one pressure plateau in P-C isotherms. The Pr/La ratio in alloy composition influenced hydrogen storage capacity and kinetics properties. Elec-trochemical studies showed that the discharge capacity decreased from 360 mAh/g (x=0.00) to 335 mAh/g (x=0.20) as x increased. But the high-rate dischargeability (HRD) of alloy electrodes increased from 26% (x=0.00) to 56% (x=0.20) at a discharge current density of Id=1800 mA/g. Anode polarization measurements were done to further understand the electrochemical kinetics properties after Pr substitution.     

Electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the nanocrystalline and amorphous（Mg24 Ni10 Cu2）100-x Ndx（x=0–20） alloys applied to Ni-MH battery

Melt spinning technology was used to prepare the Mg2 Ni-type（Mg24 Ni10 Cu2）100–x Ndx（x=0,5,10,15,20） alloys in order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure.The effects of Nd content and spinning rate on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys were investigated.The structure characterizations of X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM） linked with energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS） revealed that the as-spun Nd-free alloy displayed an entire nanocrystalline structure,whereas the as-spun Nd-added alloys held a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure and the degree of amorphization visibly increased with the rising of Nd content and spinning rate,suggesting that the addition of Nd facilitated the glass forming of the Mg2 Ni-type alloy.The electrochemical measurements indicated that the addition of Nd and melt spinning improved the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys significantly.The discharge capacities of the as-cast and spun alloys exhibited maximum values when Nd content was x=10,which were 86.4,200.5,266.3,402.5 and 452.8 mAh/g corresponding to the spinning rate of 0（As-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s）,10,20,30 and 40 m/s,respectively.The cycle stability（S20,the capacity maintain rate at 20thcycle） of the as-cast alloy always rose with the increasing of Nd content,and those of the as-spun alloys exhibited the maximum values for Nd content x=10,which were 77.9%,83.4% 89.2% and 89.7%,corresponding to the spinning rate of 10,20,30 and 40 m/s,respectively.     

Phase Structure and Electrochemical Characteristics of Ml（Ni3.55Co0.75Mn0.40Al0.30）5x （x=0.88, 0.92, 0.96, 1.00） Hydrogen Storage Alloys

The phase structure and electrochemical characteristics of Ml （（Ni3.55Co0.75Mn0.40Al0.30）sx （ x = 0.88, 0.92, 0.96, 1.00） hydrogen storage alloys were studied. The effect of the stoichiometric ratio on the phase structure and electrochemical characteristics was analyzed. The results of XRD reveal that all the alloys consist mainly of LaNi5 phase with the hexagonal CaCu5 structure. But a few of the diffraction peaks of La2Ni7 phase on XRD pattern are observed when x ≤ 0.92, and with decreasing x, the intensity of La2Ni7 diffraction peaks increases and the values of lattice parameters a and cell volume increase, c and c/a of LaNi5 phase decrease gradually. When x≥0.96, La2Ni7 phase disappears and the alloys become single CaCu5-type. The electrochemical tests show that the maximum discharge capacity, high rate dischargeability and low temperature dischargeability are improved to different degrees by adjusting the stoichiometric ratio.     

Phase structure and hydrogen storage properties of REMg8.35Ni2.18Al0.21 （RE=La, Ce, Pr, and Nd） hydrogen storage alloys

REMg 8.35Ni2.18Al0.21 (RE=La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) alloys were prepared by induction melting and following annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the alloys were composed of Mg2Ni, (La, Pr, Nd)Mg2Ni, (La, Ce)2Mg17 , (Ce, Pr, Nd)Mg12 and Ce2Ni7 phases. The above phases were disproportioned into Mg2NiH4 , MgH2 and REH x (x=2.51 or 3) phases in hydriding. CeH2.51 phase transformed into CeH2.29 phase in dehydriding, whereas LaH3 , PrH3 and NdH3 phases remained unchanged. The PrMg8.41Ni2.14Al0.20 alloy had the fastest hydriding kinetics and the highest dehydriding plateau pressure while the CeMg8.35Ni2.18Al0.21 alloy presented the best hydriding/dehydriding reversibility. The onset hydrogen desorption temperature of the CeMg8.35Ni2.18Al0.21 hydride decreased remarkably owing to the phase transformation between the CeH2.51 and the CeH2.29 .     

Microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x（V0.81Fe0.19）x hydrogen storage alloys

Microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x(V0.81Fe0.19)x hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. XRD indicated that La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x(V0.81Fe0.19)x alloys consisted of a single phase with CaCu5-type structure, and the lattice parameter a and cell volume V increased with increasing x value. The maximum discharge capacity first increased from 319.0 (x=0) to 324.0 mAh/g (x=0.05), and then decreased to 307.0 mAh/g (x=0.20). The high-rate dischargeability at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g first increased from 52.1% (x=0) to 59.1% (x=0.15), and then decreased to 55.4% (x=0.20). The hydrogen diffusion in the bulky alloy was responsible for the high-rate dischargeability. Cycling stability first increased with increasing x from 0 to 0.10 and then decreased when x increased to 0.20, which was resulted from the synthesized effect of the improvement of the pulverization resistance and the decrease of corrosion resistance.     

Hydrogen storage properties of mechanically milled La2Mg17-x wt.% Ni （x=0, 50, 100, 150 and 200） composites

Melting method was used to obtain La2Mg17 alloy,and then Ni powder was added by mechanical alloying method.The kinetics of hydriding process and electrochemical properties of La2Mg17-x wt.%Ni(x=0,50,100,150,200) composites were investigated.X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analyses showed that the crystal structure of composite alloy gradually transformed into amorphous phase by the effect of ball milling and Ni powders.The research of hydrogen absorption properties found that La2Mg 17-50 wt.%Ni reached the highest hydrogen absorption than other alloys with more addition of Ni content,reached to 5.796 wt.% at 3 MPa,and up to 5.229 wt.% merely in 2 min,which revealed that the amorphous phase reduced the H occupation of the lattice clearance,resulting in the decline of hydrogen absorption capacity.The electrochemical tests indicated that the maximum discharge capacity increased to 353.1 mAh/g at 30 oC,however,the cycle stability decreased considerably.A series of kinetic measurements demonstrated that the controlling steps of electrochemical process of La 2 Mg 17-x wt.%Ni alloys transferred from hydrogen diffusion on alloy bulk(x=50,100) to hydrogen diffusion on both alloy bulk and surface(x=150,200).     

Structure and high-temperature electrochemical properties of La_（0.60）Nd_（0.15）Mg_（0.25）Ni_（3.3）Si_（0.10） hydrogen storage alloys

The structure and high-temperature electrochemical properties of the as-cast and annealed (940 °C, 8 h) La0.60Nd0.15Mg0.25Ni3.3Si0.10 hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the multiphase structure of the as-cast alloy with LaNi5 phase as the main phase was converted into a double-phase structure with La2Ni7 phase as the main phase after annealing. The surface morphology studied by scanning electronic microscope (SEM) showed that the annealed alloy had a much higher anti-corrosion ability than the as-cast alloy. Both alloys presented excellent activation characteristics at all test temperatures. The maximum discharge capacity of the as-cast alloy decreased when the test temperature increased, while the temperature almost had no effect on the annealed alloy. As the test temperature increased, the cyclic stability and charge retention of both alloys decreased, and these properties were improved significantly by annealing.     

La0.8Mg0.2(Ni2.7Co0.6Al0.1Mn0.1)x贮氢合金的电化学性能分析

采用恒电位法、EIS分析及双电极系统对La0.8Mg0.2(Ni2.7Co0.6Al0.1Mn0.1)x(x=0.9～1.10)系列合金进行电化学性能分析。结果表明,x=1.05的合金具有较好的自放电性能(CR=97.3%),而x=1.10的合金有较高的电化学容量(369 mAh.g-1)。合金电极的电化学阻抗谱(EIS)表明,随着化学计量比x的增大,合金电极的电荷迁移电阻先减小后增大,动力学性能先增强后减弱。线性极化测试表明,随着化学计量比x的增大,合金电极表面的电化学反应速率先增大后减小。通过合金电极阳极电流对时间响应的半对数曲线计算的氢扩散系数D随着化学计量比x的增大先增大后降低,说明合金内部的氢扩散能力先增强后降低。     

Structural and Electrochemical Characteristics of Mg0.94 La0.06 Ni AlloyPrepared by Ball Milling

The amorphous Mg0.94Lao.o6Ni alloy was synthesized by ball milling for different time at 400 r min^-1. Electrochemical performances of the alloy electrodes were investigated and the results show that the specimens would reach their maximum electrochemical discharge capacities at the first charge/discharge cycle. The cyclic tests and X-ray diffraction(XRD) results show that discharge capacities would decrease rapidly due to the crystallization of the amorphous and the oxidization of magnesium on the particle surface during the electrochemical charge/discharge cycling. In addition, the DTA and SEM results reveal that the thermal stabilities will be improved and the size of the alloy will be decreased with the ball-milling time. The amorphous Mgo.96Lao.04Ni alloy prepared by ball milling for 40 h at 400 r min^-1 shows the bestelectrochemical properties.     

Effects of annealing on microstructures and electrochemical properties of La0.8Mg0.2Ni2.4Mn0.10Co0.55Al0.10 alloy

The La0.8Mg0.2Ni2.4Mn0.10Co0.55Al0.10 alloy was prepared by induction melting. The structural and morphological characterizations were performed by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical measurements were performed using LAND and CHI 660b electrochemical workstation. The main phases of the alloy were LaNi5 and (La,Mg)Ni3. After annealing, the maximum discharge capacity, cycle stability and high rate dischargeability (HRD) were improved obviously. The maximum discharge capacity reached 373.80 mAh/g (T=1173 K), the C100/Cmax(%) was 72.63% (T=1173 K), and the value of HRD reached 51.8% at a discharge current density of 1150 mA/g (T=1173 K). The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and potentiodynamic polarization were also studied.     

La0.65RE0.10Mg0.25Ni3.5Si0.15(RE=La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm)储氢合金的电化学性能及EIS分析

通过感应熔炼制备La0.65RE0.10Mg0.25Ni3.55i0.15(RE =La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm)合金.采用X射线衍射方法分析了合金的相结构,研究了其电化学性能,并采用电化学阻抗谱分析了合金电极的放氢动力学特性.研究结果表明,合金是以LaNi5、LaNi3为主相的多相结构,同时合金中少量的Si元素与Mg和Ni元素形成了少量的Mg2 Si相和Ni2Si相.Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm部分替代La以后,合金的放电容量下降,Ce的替代使合金容量大幅度降低.对于本系列合金,La被其他稀土元素部分替代后,合金经过100次循环后的容量保持率略有下降,但除了Pr元素以外,变化值均较小.合金电极的电化学阻抗谱分析表明,中低频区的容抗弧半径依次为Ce ＞La＞ Nd ＞Sm ＞Pr,这表明采用Nd、Sm、Pr替代La后合金电极在碱液中放电过程电荷传递电阻Rct减小,即合金表面活性增加,但Ce替代却导致Ret急剧增大,这可能与Ce在碱液中易形成氧化物降低了合金的表面活性有关.     

Microstructures and hydrogen storage properties of as-cast and copper-mould-cast LaMg4Ni alloys

Phase compositions, morphologies and hydrogen storage properties of the as-cast and copper-mould-cast LaMgaNi alloys were studied. The dehydriding onset temperature of the as-cast alloy hydride was about 500 K, which was at least 50 K higher than that of the copper-mould-cast one, and the copper-mould-cast alloy hydride had a faster dehydriding rate compared with as-cast one. Additionally, the copper-mould-cast alloy could uptake 2.85 wt.% hydrogen, which was 95.0% of saturated hydrogen storage capac- ity at room temperature. While only 1.80 wt.% hydrogen （60% of saturated capacity） was absorbed for the as-cast alloy under the same conditions. The reversible hydrogen storage capacities and plateau hydrogen pressures of the two alloys were close. X-ray dif- fractions and scanning electron microscopy results indicated that similar thermodynamic property of the two alloys should be ascribed to the same hydrogen storage phase, Mg and MgzNi. The better hydrogen sorption kinetics of copper-mould-cast alloy should be as- cribed to the more uniform phase distribution compared with that of the as-cast one.     

Effect of AB2-based alloy addition on structure and electrochemical properties of La0.5Pr0.2Zr0.1Mg0.2Ni2.75Co0.45Fe0.1Al0.2 hydrogen storage alloy

The La 0.5Pr0.2Zr0.1Mg0.2Ni2.75Co0.45Fe0.1Al0.2(M1) and Zr0.65Ti0.35(Mn0.2V0.2Cr0.15Ni0.45) 1.76(M2) hydrogen storage alloys were prepared by inductive melting.In addition,the M1+30 wt.%M2 composites were successively prepared by using high-energy ball milling technology.From the X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis,it was found that M1 and M2 alloys still retained their respective main phases in the M1+30 wt.%M2 composites.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) indicated that the decrease in discharge capacity of M1 and M2 alloy electrodes was ascribed to the oxidation-dissolution of La,Pr,Mg and Ti,Mn,V,Cr active elements,respectively.The electrochemical studies showed that the M1+30 wt.%M 2 composite electrode ball milling for 5 min exhibited excellence cyclic stability(92.3%) after 80 charge/discharge cycles,which was higher than 77.7 % and 85.6% of M1 and M2 alloy electrodes,respectively.Moreover,at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g,the high rate discharge ability(HRD) of the M1+30 wt.%M2 composite electrode increased from 61.5%(5 min) to 70.3%(10 min).According to the linear polarization,Tafel polarization and cyclic voltammograms(CV),the electrochemical kinetics of hydrogen reaction on the surface of the electrode and hydrogen diffusion rate in the bulk of alloy were also improved in the M1+30 wt.%M2 composite with increasing ball milling time.     

Effect of cerium content on microstructure and hydrogen storage performance of Ti24Cr17.5V50Fe8.5Cex（x=0-1.0） alloys

Effect of Ce addition on microstructure and hydrogen storage performance of Ti24Cr17.5V50Fe8.5Cex (x=0, 0.5at.%, 0.8at.% and 1.0at.%) alloys was studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and P-C-isotherm measurements. The results indicated that Ce addition was a useful way to improve the flatness of the plateau and increase hydrogen storage capacity of Ti24Cr17.5V50Fe8.5 alloy. It was indicated that both homogenization of composition and increase of hydrogen diffusion coefficient were the main reasons for improving the hydrogen storage performance of Ti24Cr17.5V50Fe8.5Cex alloys.