Phonon transport characteristics of α, β, and γ crystalline phases of magnesium hydride from first-principles-based anharmonic lattice dynamics

Abstract

The superior gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen capacities of magnesium hydride (MgH2) make it a promising candidate material for solid-state hydrogen storage. However, the slow kinetics of hydrogen atoms and the high thermodynamic stability of MgH2 hinder its practical application. To address the challenging issue of adsorption–desorption in MgH2, structural engineering involving nanostructuring has been used to improve the hydrogen-storage characteristics of this material. However, although structural engineering and thermal management significantly influence material properties, no microscopic understanding of the heat conduction property of pristine MgH2 exists. Further advances in the thermal engineering of MgH2-based hydrogen-storage materials require a better understanding of heat conduction in pristine MgH2, particularly knowledge of how the crystalline phases of MgH2 depend on the hydrogen concentration and external pressure. This study uses first-principles-based anharmonic lattice dynamics to quantitatively investigate the intrinsic thermal conductivity of heat-carrying phonons in pristine MgH2 with three different crystalline phases α, β, and γ. The results show that the thermal conductivity of MgH2 depends on the crystalline phase and that the magnitude of the thermal conductivity increases in the order α, γ, and β. In contrast, the volumetric heat capacity and mean squared displacements of the constituent atoms are similar for all three phases. Furthermore, as observed for the pressure dependence of phonon transport, increasing the pressure reduces the thermal conductivity of all phases. However, for the γ and β phases, these reductions are relatively moderate because of the competing effects of group velocity and relaxation time, which have opposite dependencies on pressure. Finally, modal analysis indicates that the spectral features of the phonon transport properties under an applied external pressure are comparable to those at atmospheric pressure. These results should help tailor the heat dissipation of MgH2 while maintaining its hydrogen adsorption–desorption performance through structural engineering.