The Influence of Morphology on the Hydrogen Storage Properties of Magnesium Based Materials Processed by Cold Rolling

Abstract

In this communication we report the effect of macro and microstructure on the hydrogen storage properties of magnesium based materials. Magnesium hydride is an attractive material for hydrogen storage applications since it has a high hydrogen volumetric density. Furthermore, the high enthalpy of hydride formation makes it attractive for thermal energy storage applications. Besides, magnesium is an abundant and low cost material. However, the Mg/MgH2 system requires high operating temperatures due to its thermodynamic stability and slow hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics. Magnesium’s first hydrogenation is a very long and costly process. This work aims to ameliorate this process which would effectively reduce the cost of MgH2. Commercial pure magnesium samples were processed by cold rolling. After processing, the samples presented limited hydrogen absorption due to their small surface area to volume ratio. To overcome this problem the samples were then reduced to powder using a bastard file. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and presented different morphology. Hydrogen storage properties and morphology are discussed and correlated. Results show an important improvement on the hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics for the comminuted samples.