Refractory medium/high-entropy alloys (M/HEAs) are emerging as promising alternative materials for hydrogen storage and hydrogen combustion engines due to their favorable thermodynamic and kinetic conditions for hydrogen accommodation (for the former) and promising high-temperature mechanical properties (for the latter). A better understanding of hydrogen-metal interactions is necessary to advance the development of this material class, thus helping leverage hydrogen-based applications. Here we reveal the microstructural evolution of a TiNbZr MEA by in-situ synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) during hydrogenation in pure H-2 gas at atmospheric pressure. At 500 degrees C, dissolved hydrogen atoms gradually expand the crystal lattice isotropically, and the body-centered cubic crystal remains stable up to a hydrogen concentration of similar to 46.4 at.%. The thermodynamics of hydrogen accommodation associated with experimental observations in the crystal lattice is elucidated using density functional theory (DFT). The calculations suggest that tetrahedral interstitial sites are the thermodynamically favorable positions for hydrogen accommodation in both cases (i) for a single hydrogen in the special quasirandom structure supercell and (ii) at a high hydrogen concentration (similar to 45.4 at.%). In the latter case, hydrogen interstitials are randomly distributed on the tetrahedral sites. Upon cooling, it is observed that the body-centered cubic lattice transforms to a body-centered tetragonal structure. The DFT calculations show that this change is related to the ordering distribution of hydrogen interstitials within the TiNbZr lattice. By combining in-situ HEXRD experiments and DFT calculations, the study provides fundamental insights into hydrogen accommodation in the interstitial positions and its impact on the lattice symmetry in TiNbZr MEA.

HySA Systems and TF Design have recently developed a single-stage prototype high-pressure metal hydride hydrogen compressor (MHHC) which is able to compress hydrogen from 100 to >700 bar at the working temperatures from 20 to 150 degrees C, with estimated productivity about 1 Nm(3)/h. The MHHC comprises of two 2 m-long fibre-wound high-pressure MH containers developed by the authors earlier and assembled in two modules operating in a mode of a cyclic lower-pressure H-2 absorption (on cooling) and high-pressure H-2 desorption (on heating). The containers operate using a self-developed multicomponent C14 Laves type Ti-based AB(2) intermetallic alloy. The article considers phase-structural and hydrogen sorption properties of the utilized metal hydride material, hydrogen compression performances of the metal hydride container, as well as layout and the expected performance characteristics of the compressor assembly.

This study investigates the potential of nanostructuring the equiatomic high entropy alloy TiVZrNbHf by high-pressure torsion to improve its already promising hydrogen absorption properties. The detailed microstructural analysis of the material after processing demonstrates that a homogenous single-phase nanocrystalline structure can be obtained despite shear band development. Due to the metastable character of many high entropy alloys, this analysis was complemented by investigating the thermal stability of the alloy under both vacuum and hydrogen pressure. For the latter, the material was characterized via in situ X-ray diffraction during hydrogen charging at 500 °C, giving a detailed insight into the phase evolution during initial absorption and subsequent cycling. These experiments evidenced the inherent metastability of TiVZrNbHf, which resulted in its decomposition into a bcc, hcp, and C14 Laves phase under both vacuum and hydrogen atmospheres. Despite decomposition, the material retained its nanocrystalline structure under hydrogen pressure, presumably due to hydride formation, while significant grain growth occurred under vacuum. These findings deepen the understanding of the deformation and hydrogen charging behavior of this promising high entropy alloy, suggesting an approach for engineering such alloys for enhanced stability and performance, particularly in solid-state hydrogen storage applications.

We investigated Cu nanoparticles (NPs) on vicinal and basal ZnO supports to obtain an atomistic picture of the catalyst's structure under in situ oxidizing and reducing conditions. The Cu/ZnO model catalysts were investigated at elevated gas pressures by high energy grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). We find that the Cu nanoparticles are fully oxidized to Cu2O under atmospheric conditions at room temperature. As the nanoparticles swell during oxidation, they maintain their epitaxy on basal ZnO (000 +/- 1) surfaces, whereas on the vicinal ZnO (10 (1) over bar4) surface, the nanoparticles undergo a coherent tilt. We find that the oxidation process is fully reversible under H-2 flow at 500 K, resulting in predominantly well-aligned nanoparticles on the basal surfaces, whereas the orientation of Cu NPs on vicinal ZnO was only partially restored. The analysis of the substrate crystal truncation rods evidences the stability of basal ZnO surfaces under all gas conditions. No Cu-Zn bulk alloy formation is observed. Under CO2 flow, no diffraction signal from the nanoparticles is detected, pointing to their completely disordered state. The AP-XPS results are in line with the formation of CuO. Scanning electron microscopy images show that massive mass transport has set in, leading to the formation of larger agglomerates.

Intermetallic alloys such as FeTi have attracted ever-growing attention as a safe and efficient hydrogen storage medium. However, the utilization of high-purity metals for the synthesis of such materials poses considerable concerns over the environmental sustainability of their large-scale production. Here, we report an approach for synthesizing FeTi from industrial scraps of iron (steels C45 and 316 L) and titanium (Ti alloy Grade 2) to reduce the carbon footprint associated with FeTi alloy synthesis, without compromising their hydrogen storage properties. At 50 °C and a pressure of 0 to 100 bar, the alloys obtained by using C45-Ti Grade 2 and 316L-Ti Grade 2 can absorb a maximum amount of hydrogen of 1.61 wt.% and 1.50 wt.%, respectively. Moreover, depending on the type of steel utilized, the thermodynamic properties can be modified. Our findings pave a pathway for developing high-performance, environmentally-sustainable FeTi alloys for hydrogen storage purposes using industrial metal wastes.

Intense literature and research efforts have focussed on the exploration of complex hydrides for energy storage applications over the past decades. A focus was dedicated to the determination of their thermodynamic and hydrogen storage properties, due to their high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage capacities, but their application has been limited because of harsh working conditions for reversible hydrogen release and uptake. The present review aims at appraising the recent advances on different complex hydride systems, coming from the proficient collaborative activities in the past years from the research groups led by the experts of the Task 40 'Energy Storage and Conversion Based on Hydrogen' of the Hydrogen Technology Collaboration Programme of the International Energy Agency. An overview of materials design, synthesis, tailoring and modelling approaches, hydrogen release and uptake mechanisms and thermodynamic aspects are reviewed to define new trends and suggest new possible applications for these highly tuneable materials.

A proof of concept is shown for the design of a high pressure heterogeneous catalysis reaction cell suitable for surface sensitive x-ray diffraction and x-ray reflectometry over planar samples using high energy synchrotron radiation in combination with mass spectrometry. This design enables measurements in a pressure range from several tens to hundreds of bars for surface investigations under realistic industrial conditions in heterogeneous catalysis or gaseous corrosion studies.

In recent years, many solid-state hydride-based materials have been considered as hydrogen storage systems for mobile and stationary applications. Due to a gravimetric hydrogen capacity of 5.6 wt% and a dehydrogenation enthalpy of 38.9 kJ/mol H 2 , Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH is considered a potential hydrogen storage material for solid-state storage systems to be coupled with PEM fuel cell devices. One of the main challenges is the reduction of dehydrogenation temperature since this system requires high dehydrogenation temperatures (~ 200 °C). The addition of KH to this system significantly decreases the dehydrogenation onset temperature to 130 °C. On the one hand, the addition of KH stabilizes the hydrogen storage capacity. On the other hand, the capacity is reduced by 50% (from 4.1 to 2%) after the first 25 cycles. In this work, the particle sizes of the overall hydride matrix and the potassium-containing species are investigated during hydrogen cycling. Relation between particle size evolution of the additive and hydrogen storage kinetics is described by using an advanced synchrotron-based technique: Anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering, which was applied for the first time at the potassium K-edge for amide-hydride hydrogen storage systems. The outcomes from this investigation show that, the nanometric potassium-containing phases might be located at the reaction interfaces, limiting the particle coarsening. Average diameters of potassium-containing nanoparticles double after 25 cycles (from 10 to 20 nm). Therefore, reaction kinetics at subsequent cycles degrade. The deterioration of the reaction kinetics can be minimized by selecting lower absorption temperatures, which mitigates the particle size growth, resulting in two times faster reaction kinetics.

We investigated Cu/ZnO model catalysts for methanol synthesis to obtain an atomistic picture of activation and deactivation processes under in situ oxidizing and reducing conditions. We have investigated Cu nanoparticles with different shapes and aspect ratios grown epitaxially on basal and vicinal ZnO surfaces at elevated gas pressures by high energy grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). We find that the Cu nanoparticles are fully oxidized to Cu2O under atmospheric conditions at room temperature. During oxidation, they maintain their epitaxy on basal ZnO (000-1) surfaces, whereas on the vicinal ZnO (10-14) surface, the nanoparticles undergo a coherent tilt. We find that the oxidation process is fully reversible under H2 flow at 500 K, resulting in predominantly well-aligned nanoparticles on the basal surfaces, whereas a random orientation is preferred for the (10-14) surface. Under CO2 flow, no diffraction signal from the nanoparticles is detected, pointing to their completely disordered state. The AP-XPS results are in line with the formation of CuO. The analysis of the substrate crystal truncation rods evidences the stability of basal ZnO surfaces under all gas conditions. No proof for Cu-Zn alloy formation is found. Scanning electron microscopy images show that massive mass transport has set in, leading to the formation of larger agglomerates, which is detrimental to the catalyst’s performance.

We report a systematic investigation of the effect that selected metal-based additives have on the dehydrogenation properties of the reactive hydride composite (RHC) model system 2NaBH4+MgH2. Compared to the pristine system, the material doped with 3TiCl3·AlCl3 exhibits superior dehydrogenation kinetics. The addition of 3TiCl3·AlCl3 alters the controlling mechanism of the second dehydrogenation step making it change from a two-dimensional interface controlled process to a two-dimensional nucleation and growth controlled process. The microstructural investigation of the dehydrogenated 2NaBH4+MgH2 via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows significant differences in the MgB2 morphology formed in the doped and undoped systems. The MgB2 has a needle-like structure in the sample doped with 3TiCl3·AlCl3, which is different from the plate-like MgB2 structure in the undoped sample. Moreover, nanostructured metal-based phases, such as TiB2/AlB2 particles, acting as heterogeneous nucleation sites for MgB2 are also identified for the sample doped with 3TiCl3·AlCl3.

The hydrogen storage performance of reactive hydride composite can be significantly improved by the addition of and the subsequent formation of an amide–borohydride compound during hydrogen release. Herein, an investigation into the structure and anion motions of using synchrotron radiation powder X‐ray diffraction (SR‐PXD; 295–573 K) and quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS; 297–514 K) is described. The highest temperature studied with QENS (514 K) is above the melting point of . The neutron measurements confirm a long‐range diffusive motion of hydrogen‐containing species with the diffusion coefficient . Interestingly, this value is comparable to that of diffusion inferred from conductivity measurements. SR‐PXD confirms the recrystallization of from the melt into the α‐phase upon cooling. At temperatures below 514 K, localized rotational motions are observed that are attributed to tetrahedra units mainly undergoing rotations around the axes. The activation energy for this thermally activated process is found to be and respectively for the two instrumental resolutions utilized in the QENS measurements, corresponding to observation times of 55 and 14 ps.

Reversible solid-state hydrogen storage is one of the key technologies toward pollutant-free and sustainable energy conversion. The composite system LiBH4-MgH2 can reversibly store hydrogen with a gravimetric capacity of 13 wt%. However, its dehydrogenation/hydrogenation kinetics is extremely sluggish (∼40 h) which hinders its usage for commercial applications. In this work, the kinetics of this composite system is significantly enhanced (∼96%) by adding a small amount of NbF5. The catalytic effect of NbF5 on the dehydrogenation/hydrogenation process of LiBH4-MgH2 is systematically investigated using a broad range of experimental techniques such as in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction (in situ SR-XPD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), anomalous small angle X-ray scattering (ASAXS), and ultra/small-angle neutron scattering (USANS/SANS). The obtained results are utilized to develop a model that explains the catalytic function of NbF5 in hydrogen release and uptake in the LiBH4-MgH2 composite system.

We investigated the orientation and morphology of Cu nanoparticles grown under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions on ZnO(0001), ZnO(000 (1) over bar), and ZnO(10 (1) over bar4) single crystal surfaces by scanning tunneling microscopy, high-energy grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The (111) oriented Cu NPs on basal ZnO showed only small area fractions of high indexed Cu(225) and Cu(331) facets. Cu NPs grown on ZnO(10 (1) over bar4) show alignment of Cu [111] with the ZnO [0001] direction, which is at an angle of 24.8 degrees to the ZnO(10 (1) over bar4) surface normal. Because of this tilt, the NPs exhibit a shape with a larger fraction of high indexed facets such as (335), (221), (113), and (55 (1) over bar). In addition, the direct interaction of subsequent Cu(111) planes to the underlying substrate results in unequal amounts of ABCA and ACBA stacked NPs. Small NPs are found to interact strongly with the vicinal surface, giving rise to a surface corrugation with a multiple of the surface step distance. The high density of low-coordinated Cu surface atoms potentially increases the overall catalytic activity for methanol synthesis and CO2 hydrogenation reactions.

Reversible solid‐state hydrogen storage in metal hydrides is a key technology for pollution‐free energy conversion systems. Herein, the LiBH2–MgH2 composite system with and without ScCl3 additive is investigated using synchrotron‐ and neutron‐radiation‐based probing methods that can be applied to characterize such lightweight metal–hydrogen systems from nanoscopic levels up to macroscopic scale. Combining the results of neutron‐ and photon‐based methods allows a complementary insight into reaction paths and mechanisms, complex interactions between the hydride matrix and additive, hydrogen distribution, material transport, structural changes, and phase separation in the hydride matrix. The gained knowledge is of great importance for development and optimization of such novel metal‐hydride‐based hydrogen storage systems with respect to future applications.

Rechargeable solid-state magnesium batteries are considered for high energy density storage and usage in mobile applications as well as to store energy from intermittent energy sources, triggering intense research for suitable electrode and electrolyte materials. Recently, magnesium borohydride, Mg(BH4)2, was found to be an effective precursor for solid-state Mg-ion conductors. During the mechanochemical synthesis of these Mg-ion conductors, amorphous Mg(BH4)2 is typically formed and it was postulated that this amorphous phase promotes the conductivity. Here, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of as-received γ-Mg(BH4)2 and ball milled, amorphous Mg(BH4)2 confirmed that the conductivity of the latter is ~2 orders of magnitude higher than in as-received γ-Mg(BH4)2 at 353 K. Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of the local structure shows striking similarities up to a length scale of 5.1 Å, suggesting similar conduction pathways in both the crystalline and amorphous sample. Up to 12.27 Å the PDF indicates that a 3D net of interpenetrating channels might still be present in the amorphous phase although less ordered compared to the as-received γ-phase. However, quasi elastic neutron scattering experiments (QENS) were used to study the rotational mobility of the [BH4] units, revealing a much larger fraction of activated [BH4] rotations in amorphous Mg(BH4)2. These findings suggest that the conduction process in amorphous Mg(BH4)2 is supported by stronger rotational mobility, which is proposed to be the so-called “paddle-wheel” mechanism.

The system Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH is considered as an interesting solid-state hydrogen storage material owing to its low thermodynamic stability of ca. 40 kJ/mol H 2 and high gravimetric hydrogen capacity of 5.6 wt.%. However, high kinetic barriers lead to slow absorption/desorption rates even at relatively high temperatures (>180 °C). In this work, we investigate the effects of the addition of K-modified Li x Ti y O z on the absorption/desorption behaviour of the Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH system. In comparison with the pristine Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH, the system containing a tiny amount of nanostructured K-modified Li x Ti y O z shows enhanced absorption/desorption behaviour. The doped material presents a sensibly reduced (∼30 °C) desorption onset temperature, notably shorter hydrogen absorption/desorption times and reversible hydrogen capacity of about 3 wt.% H 2 upon cycling. Studies on the absorption/desorption processes and micro/nanostructural characterizations of the Mg(NH 2 ) 2 + 2LiH + K-modified Li x Ti y O z system hint to the fact that the presence of in situ formed nanostructure K 2 TiO 3 is the main responsible for the observed improved kinetic behaviour.

In this work, we investigated the influence of the K2Mn(NH2)4 additive on the hydrogen sorption properties of the Mg(NH2)2 + 2LiH (Li–Mg–N–H) system. The addition of 5 mol% of K2Mn(NH2)4 to the Li–Mg–N–H system leads to a decrease of the dehydrogenation peak temperature from 200 °C to 172 °C compared to the pristine sample. This sample exhibits a constant hydrogen storage capacity of 4.2 wt.% over 25 dehydrogenation/rehydrogenation cycles. Besides that, the in-situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction analysis performed on the as prepared Mg(NH2)2 + 2LiH containing K2Mn(NH2)4 indicates the presence of Mn4N. However, no crystalline K-containing phases were detected. Upon dehydrogenation, the formation of KH is observed. The presence of KH and Mn4N positively influences the hydrogen sorption properties of this system, especially at the later stage of rehydrogenation. Under the applied conditions, hydrogenation of the last 1 wt.% takes place in only 2 min. This feature is preserved in the following three cycles.

The hydrogen storage properties of 6Mg(NH2)29LiH-x(LiBH4) (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2) system and the role of LiBH4 on the kinetic behaviour and the dehydrogenation/hydrogenation reaction mechanism were herein systematically investigated. Among the studied compositions, 6Mg(NH2)29LiH2LiBH4 showed the best hydrogen storage properties. The presence of 2 mol of LiBH4 improved the thermal behaviour of the 6Mg(NH2)29LiH by lowering the dehydrogenation peak temperature nearly 25 °C and by reducing the apparent dehydrogenation activation energy of about 40 kJ/mol. Furthermore, this material exhibited fast dehydrogenation (10 min) and hydrogenation kinetics (3 min) and excellent cycling stability with a reversible hydrogen capacity of 3.5 wt % at isothermal 180 °C. Investigations on the reaction pathway indicated that the observed superior kinetic behaviour likely related to the formation of Li4(BH4)(NH2)3. Studies on the rate-limiting steps hinted that the sluggish kinetic behaviour of the 6Mg(NH2)29LiH pristine material are attributed to an interface-controlled mechanism. On the contrary, LiBH4-containing samples show a diffusion-controlled mechanism. During the first dehydrogenation reaction, the possible formation of Li4(BH4)(NH2)3 accelerates the reaction rates at the interface. Upon hydrogenation, this ‘liquid like’ of Li4(BH4)(NH2)3 phase assists the diffusion of small ions into the interfaces of the amide-hydride matrix.

Lithium borohydride (LiBH4) and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) were synthesized via mechanical milling of LiBO2, and NaBO2 with Mg–Al-based waste under controlled gaseous atmosphere conditions. Following this approach, the results herein presented indicate that LiBH4 and NaBH4 can be formed with a high conversion yield starting from the anhydrous borates under 70 bar H2. Interestingly, NaBH4 can also be obtained with a high conversion yield by milling NaBO2·4H2O and Mg–Al-based waste under an argon atmosphere. Under optimized molar ratios of the starting materials and milling parameters, NaBH4 and LiBH4 were obtained with conversion ratios higher than 99.5%. Based on the collected experimental results, the influence of the milling energy and the correlation with the final yields were also discussed.

The hydrogen storage properties of 6Mg(NH2)(2)-9LiH-x(LiBH4) (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2) system and the role of LiBH4 on the kinetic behaviour and the dehydrogenation/hydrogenation reaction mechanism were herein systematically investigated. Among the studied compositions, 6Mg(NH2)(2)-9LiH-2LiBH(4) showed the best hydrogen storage properties. The presence of 2 mol of LiBH4 improved the thermal behaviour of the 6Mg(NH2)(2)-9LiH by lowering the dehydrogenation peak temperature nearly 25 degrees C and by reducing the apparent dehydrogenation activation energy of about 40 kJ/mol. Furthermore, this material exhibited fast dehydrogenation (10 min) and hydrogenation kinetics (3 min) and excellent cycling stability with a reversible hydrogen capacity of 3.5 wt % at isothermal 180 degrees C. Investigations on the reaction pathway indicated that the observed superior kinetic behaviour likely related to the formation of Li-4(BH4)(NH2)(3). Studies on the rate-limiting steps hinted that the sluggish kinetic behaviour of the 6Mg(NH2)(2)-9LiH pristine material are attributed to an interface-controlled mechanism. On the contrary, LiBH4-containing samples show a diffusion-controlled mechanism. During the first dehydrogenation reaction, the possible formation of Li-4(BH4)(NH2)(3) accelerates the reaction rates at the interface. Upon hydrogenation, this 'liquid like' of Li-4(BH4)(NH2)(3) phase assists the diffusion of small ions into the interfaces of the amide-hydride matrix. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.