Hydride Phase Research Articles

Identification, classification and characterisation of hydrides in Zr alloys

Hydride precipitation in zirconium alloys leads to embrittlement, making it essential to understand their prevalence and stability in the microstructure. Dictionary indexing of Kikuchi patterns, along with orientation relationship analysis and x-ray diffraction, confirmed the presence of both delta and gamma hydride phases in Zircaloy-4. Both phases were found to be stable in recrystallised zirconium, with the gamma phase exhibiting a distinct orientation relationship with the matrix. Delta hydride morphology and orientation were influenced by local stresses, resulting in a change in orientation during precipitation. By analysing the orientation relationships, the evolution of hydride phases could be visualised, providing insights into the room temperature stability of both delta and gamma hydrides.

Numerical Study of the Hydride Embrittlement in Zirconium Alloy using XFEM

A numerical model for hydride embrittlement in Zirconium alloy (Zr–2.5Nb) is developed utilizing the extended finite element method (XFEM). Hydride embrittlement reduces the ductility and failure time of a metal/alloy. During hydride embrittlement, stress-directed hydrogen diffusion, metal-hydride phase transformation, mechanical deformation, and hydride precipitation occur simultaneously. The present model incorporates all these processes and is able to predict the hydrogen concentration and the hydride fraction distribution under any externally applied stress field. In this work, both the steady and transient hydrogen diffusion cases are evaluated. Further, the XFEM is utilized to develop a model of hydride embrittlement in the presence of a crack. The first step of the hydride embrittlement process is the diffusion of hydrogen. According to Fick’s law of diffusion, hydrogen diffusion is directly dependent on hydrostatic stresses and hydrogen concentration gradient under external stresses. The next step is the hydride precipitation in hydride embrittlement, where the expansion of material takes place that changes the hydrostatic stress field. Thus, studying the effect of precipitation of hydride on hydrostatic stresses is essential. Moreover, the process of hydride embrittlement is highly influenced by residual stresses in the structure. Hence, the effect of residual stress present in the zirconium alloy pressure tube (PT) is also evaluated. The results indicate that the residual tensile stresses contribute to the growth of hydride, which will reduce the material failure time.

Cyclic thermal conductivity changes of Pd-catalyzed Ni–Mg alloy films by gasochromic hydro- and dehydrogenations

To investigate the thermal-switching properties of Pd-catalyzed Ni–Mg alloy films, we conducted in situ analyses of the films’ electrical, optical, and thermal properties through hydrogen gasochromic reactions. These reactions allow the films to reversibly switch between metallic (dehydride) and semiconductor (hydride) phases. The thermal conductivities of the metallic and semiconductor states were found to be 14 and 1.0 W m−1 K−1, respectively. By applying the Wiedemann–Franz law, we attributed the significant decrease in thermal conductivity during hydrogenation to the reduction in free electrons.

Effect of different hydrogen Fugacities on the microstructure of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

In this study we compared the microstructural changes in the presence of hydrogen of Ti-6Al-4V alloy prepared by two different additive manufacturing (AM) methods: electron beam melting (EBM) and selective laser melting (SLM). Cathodic hydrogenation of AM Ti-6Al-4V resulted in significant expansion of β Ti phases due to the solute hydrogen, increasing of micro-strains, and α → titanium hydride/βH transformation. It was shown that SLM Ti-6Al-4V with acicular martensitic structure is more prone to hydrogen-induced phase transformation and hydrogen-assisted damage, compared to EBM. Moreover, it was revealed that different hydrogen charging environments cause different microstructural changes in EBM Ti-6Al-4V. Unlike cathodic hydrogen charging, gaseous hydrogen charging at elevated temperature reduced the process-induced micro-strains and promoted Al redistribution within the EBM Ti-6Al-4V. This resulted in massive precipitation of brittle α2-Ti3Al intermetallic compound, which act as a strong hydrogen trapping site aside from the Ti hydride phase.

Pressure-Electrochemistry as a Pathway to Novel Metal Hydrides

We have developed a pressure-electrochemical cell apparatus to electrochemically insert hydrogen into metals at applied pressures of 1GPa. The coupling of pressure and potential (P^2) was motivated by our recent density functional theory calculations that predicted the stability of novel metal hydride phases when both pressure and potential are applied [1]. In this work, we adapted a traditional piston-cylinder pressure apparatus into a pressure-electrochemical cell by replacing the inert pressure transmitting medium with a proton-conducting liquid electrolyte (1M NaOH + polyvinyl alcohol) such that it not only provides hydrostatic pressure but also reduces into hydrogen, which is then absorbed into the metal cathode. The pressure being applied by the electrolyte was verified by measuring an increase in the electrical resistance of manganin alloy with pressure. We then electrochemically hydrogenated yttrium foil under varying pressures ranging from 0.25 to 1GPa, measuring the extent of hydrogenation post-mortem using x-ray diffraction. We find that the application of pressure suppresses hydrogen evolution, improving the current efficiency of hydrogenation of Y into YH3 from 45% at 0.25GPa to 75% at 1GPa. The development of the pressure-electrochemical apparatus unlocks a new pathway in potentially synthesizing novel metal hydrides.[1] P.-W. Guan, R. J. Hemley, V. Viswanathan, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118, e2110470118 (2021).

A sensitivity analysis of twinning crystal plasticity finite element model using single crystal and poly crystal Zircaloy

The popularity of crystal plasticity finite element method (CPFEM) models is increasing due to their ability to predict the mechanical response of crystalline materials such as metals and metal alloys more accurately than traditional continuum mechanics models. This is since the crystal plasticity models consider the effect of atomic structure, microstructural morphology, and properties of individual grains. These CPFEM models use a large number of material parameters in order to capture the mesoscale physics which comes with the downside of the tedious calibration process. In this paper, a CPFEM code was developed to include the twinning induced grain reorientation and subsequent crystallographic slip for HPC material. The developed code is incorporated in a large-scale, parallelized nonlinear solver WARP3D. A sensitivity analysis with respect to 22 material parameters was then conducted using single crystal and polycrystal representative volume element (RVE) of Zircaloy material. Loading was applied along five different crystallographic orientations for single crystal RVE and along three directions namely, rolling (RD), transverse (TD), and normal (ND) direction for polycrystal RVE. Results obtained from the sensitivity analysis were used for the calibration of material parameters for Zircaloy. Finally, developed code along with calibrated material parameters was used to investigate the effect of the hydride phase formation in Zircaloy which is a typical case observed for nuclear applications. It was found that the volume fraction of the hydride phase has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy.

Relations of Microstructural Attributes and Strength-Ductility of Zirconium Alloys with Hydrides

As the first safety barrier of nuclear reactors, zirconium alloy cladding tubes have attracted extensive attention because of its good mechanical properties. The strength and ductility of zirconium alloy are of great significance to the service process of cladding tubes, while brittle hydrides precipitate and thus deteriorate the overall performance. Based on the cohesive finite element method, the effects of cohesive strength, interfacial characteristics, and hydrides geometric characteristics on the strength and ductility of two-phase material (zirconium alloy with hydrides) are numerically simulated. The results show that the fracture behavior is significantly affected by the cohesive strength and that the overall strength and ductility are sensitive to the cohesive strength of the zirconium alloy. Furthermore, the interface is revealed to have prominent effects on the overall fracture behavior. When the cohesive strength and fracture energy of the interface are higher than those of the hydride phase, fracture initiates in the hydrides, which is consistent with the experimental phenomena. In addition, it is found that the number density and arrangement of hydrides play important roles in the overall strength and ductility. Our simulation provides theoretical support for the performance analysis of hydrogenated zirconium alloys during nuclear reactor operation.

Crystallization of high-resistivity Zn-doped GaN monocrystal via hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Recently, high-resistive GaN has been studied for lateral power devices. Fe-doped GaN has high resistivity at room temperature. However, the resistivity becomes lower at high temperatures than at room temperature. Therefore, alternative dopants for GaN have been investigated to achieve resistivity higher than Fe-doped GaN at high temperatures. Several studies on the resistivity of Zn-doped GaN substrates have been conducted; however, single-layered Zn-doped GaN prepared via hydride phase epitaxy (HVPE) has not been investigated. In this study, the monocrystals of Zn-doped GaN were obtained via HVPE using Zn vapor as the dopant precursor and single-layered Zn-doped GaN substrates were fabricated by removing the starting GaN substrates. The concentration of Zn was controlled by changing the temperature of Zn metal, and two Zn-doped GaN substrates with Zn concentrations of 4 × 1017 cm−3 and 1 × 1018 cm−3 were obtained. The dependence of resistivities of the Zn-doped GaN on temperature was measured by the Hall effect method. From 500 K to 930 K, the resistivity of the Zn-doped GaN with the Zn concentration of 4 × 1017 cm−3 varied from 3 × 109 Ωcm to 5 × 102 Ωcm and that with the Zn concentration of 1 × 1018 cm−3 varied from 1 × 1010 to 1 × 105 Ωcm. These values were higher than Fe-doped GaN with almost the same concentration as the Zn-doped GaN. Therefore, Zn-doped GaN could be more preferable for power devices than Fe-doped GaN.

Metal Flux Growth of Lanthanide Carbide Hydrides Using Anthracene.

Reactions of anthracene in Ln/T eutectic mixtures (Ln = La, Yb; T = Ni, Cu) have produced crystals of new complex lanthanide carbide hydride phases. The thermal decomposition of anthracene provides a source of both carbon and hydrogen. LaCHx forms in space group Pnma with unit cell parameters a = 7.2736(4) Å, b = 3.7218(2) Å, and c = 13.0727(7) Å. Yb2CHx forms in space group P-3m1 with unit cell parameters a = 3.5659(4) Å and c = 5.8000(8) Å, with a structure related to that of Ho2CF2. The presence of hydride in interstitial sites is supported by the formation of different compounds in the absence of hydrogen and by comparison to known hydride structures. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra collected on LaCHx show two unique hydride resonances, in agreement with the two available interstitial sites. Density of states calculations show that filling the tetrahedral sites in LaCHx with hydrogen increases metallic behavior, while adding hydrogen into the tetrahedral sites in Yb2CHx induces the formation of a band gap.

Formation and characterization of hydride rim structures in Zircaloy-4 nuclear fuel cladding tubes

Zirconium alloy tubes used as nuclear fuel cladding are subject to oxidation and subsequent hydrogen pickup during their long service in commercial light water reactors. The hydrogen picked up in the cladding can precipitate as a brittle hydride rim feature on the cladding outer surface. To better understand the effect of hydride rims on the fracture behavior of stress-relieved zirconium alloy cladding tubes, a procedure to produce these rim-like structures has been developed and is described herein. Extensive characterization of the ‘as hydrided’ tubes is performed.The hydrogen charging apparatus consists of a tube furnace with a quartz chamber that is connected to a vacuum pump as well as a bottle of pure hydrogen gas. The charging station uses a static charge of hydrogen as opposed to a flowing gas. The chief advantage of this approach is the ability to monitor the pressure drop in the hydriding chamber and correlate this pressure drop to a known rate of hydrogen pickup in the cladding tube. It was found that the hydrogen partial pressure, metal temperature, and surface treatment all clearly played a role in whether a hydride rim was formed. Extensive characterization of the hydride rims shows they consist of needle like platelets of δ phase hydrides (ZrH1.66) oriented in the circumferential direction with a radial spacing of several microns in a sandwich-like structure.

Effect of addition of rare earth element La on the hydrogen storage properties of TiFe alloy synthesized by mechanical alloying

In this paper, we report the effect of adding the rare earth element lanthanum on the hydrogen storage properties of TiFe synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA). A remarkable improvement was observed in the first hydrogenation (activation) of La-added TiFe. Milling led to the refinement of the crystallite size of the TiFe alloy leading to nanocrystallinity. The formation of a stable hydride phase LaH3 facilitated heterogeneous nucleation and acted as a gateway for the hydrogenation of the TiFe phase. No change in thermodynamics was observed for the rare earth-added TiFe compared to pure TiFe reported in the literature. The microstructure revealed a uniform distribution of the elements. However, La was completely immiscible with the TiFe alloy-a conclusion drawn from the thermodynamics study of the sample. Also investigated was pure TiFe synthesized by MA and arc melting to compare these two synthesis methods.

Repair of embrittlement induced by different hydride configurations by dissolving partial hydrides using pulsed electric current

The sudden brittle fracture of Ti, Zr and other metals caused by brittle hydride phase usually depends on the hydride network that provides the crack initiation and propagation path. Common hydride networks include continuous hydride configuration and grain boundary hydride configuration. In this study, pulsed electric current is used to effectively repair the embrittlement caused by continuous hydride configuration and grain boundary hydride configuration in pure titanium. The elongation of pure titanium with hydride configuration increased from 10% to about 20% after pulsed electric current treatment, with a certain degree of recovery of ultimate tensile strength. This is due to the dissolution of partial hydride after pulsed electric current treatment, and the hydride configuration is destroyed. Considering the introduction of pulsed electric current, hydride configuration in pure titanium is thermodynamically unstable, and the electromigration effect in kinetics also accelerates desorption of hydrogen atoms. The evolution of hydride configuration and desorption of hydrogen atoms are beneficial to the recovery of mechanical properties of hydrogenated pure titanium. In this study, the problem of hydride embrittlement caused by different hydride configurations in pure titanium was effectively repaired by pulsed electric current, which provided a new pathway and solution for dealing with the hydride induced embrittlement.

АНАЛИЗ ВЛИЯНИЯ ФАЗОВОГО СОСТАВА МАТЕРИАЛОВ СИСТЕМЫ "ТИТАН-ЖЕЛЕЗО" НА ВОДОРОДНУЮ ЕМКОСТЬ ПРИ ПЕРВИЧНОМ ГИДРИРОВАНИИ

The hydrogen adsorption properties of the phases in the materials of the Ti-Fe system have been considered. It has been shown that an increase in the content of β-Ti and Ti2Fe in their structure is accompanied by a significant increase in hydrogen absorption during primary hydrogenation. The methods of mathematical data processing based on the classical Avraham-Yerofeev equation allowed us to reveal that hydrogen saturation of the materials under consideration starts from formation of hydrogen solid solutions in the initial material phases and continues with formation of the hydride phases after the latent period.

Recent advances in magnesium hydride for solid-state hydrogen storage by mechanical treatment: A DFT study

In this paper, using density functional theory (DFT), we investigate the impact of mechanical treatment in terms of uniaxial and biaxial strains on both hydrogenation states of magnesium compounds i.e. H2-free magnesium (Mg) and preliminarily hydrogenated magnesium (MgH2). The thermodynamic properties calculation shows that applying uniaxial and biaxial strains on the H2-free magnesium does not significantly affect the formation enthalpy and decomposition temperature of the hydride phase. On the other hand, strain energy contributions on preliminarily hydrogenated magnesium are found able to decrease and improve the formation enthalpy and the decomposition temperature, making it feasible for the operational conditions of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells at 289 – 393 K. Also, the findings demonstrate that the kinetic properties in terms of hydrogen atom diffusion show a decrease in the activation energy barrier, which means an improvement in the kinetics properties faster than that of strain-free magnesium hydride. These results potentially provide better clues for the development of a magnesium-based metal hydride for hydrogen storage applications.

The Role of Bulk Stiffening in Reducing the Critical Temperature of the Metal-to-Hydride Phase Transition and the Hydride Stability: The Case of Zr(MoxFe1−x)2-H2

This study aims to shed light on the unusual trend in the stabilities of Zr(MoxFe1−x)2, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, hydrides. Both the rule of reversed stability and the crystal volume criterion correlate with the increased hydride stabilities from x = 0 to x = 0.5, but are in contrast with the destabilization of the end member ZrMo2 hydride. The pressure-composition isotherms of ZrMo2-H2 exhibit very wide solid solubility regions, which may be associated with diminished H–H elastic interaction, uelas. In order to discern this possibility, we measured the elastic moduli of Zr(MoxFe1−x)2, x = 0, 0.5, 1. The shear modulus, G, shows a moderate variation in this composition range, while the bulk modulus, B, increases significantly and monotonically from 148.2 GPa in ZrFe2 to 200.4 GPa in ZrMo2. The H–H elastic interaction is proportional to B and therefore its increase cannot directly account for a decrease in uelas. Therefore, we turn our attention to the volume of the hydrogen atom, vH, which usually varies in a limited range. Two coexisting phases, a Laves cubic (a = 7.826 Å) and a tetragonal (a = 5.603 Å, c = 8.081 Å) hydride phase are identified in ZrMo2H3.5, obtained by cooling to liquid nitrogen temperature at about 50 atm. The volume of the hydrogen atom in these two hydrides is estimated to be 2.2 Å3/(H atom). Some very low vH values, have been reported by other investigators. The low vH values, as well as the one derived in this work, significantly reduce uelas for ZrMo2-H2, and thus reduce the corresponding critical temperature for the metal-to-hydride phase transition, and the heat of hydride formation. We suggest that the bulk stiffening in ZrMo2 confines the corresponding hydride expansion and thus reduces the H-H elastic interaction.

Stabilizing a hydrogen-rich superconductor at 1 GPa by charge transfer modulated virtual high-pressure effect

Applying pressure around megabar is indispensable in the synthesis of high-temperature superconducting hydrides, such as ${\mathrm{H}}_{3}\mathrm{S}$ and ${\mathrm{LaH}}_{10}$. Stabilizing the high-pressure phase of hydride around ambient condition is a severe challenge. Based on the density-functional theory calculations, we give the first example that the structure of hydride ${\mathrm{CaBH}}_{5}$ predicted above 280 GPa can maintain its dynamical stability with pressure down to 1 GPa, by modulating the charge transfer from metal atoms to hydrogen atoms via the replacement of Ca with alkali metal atoms, e.g., Cs, in which the $[{\mathrm{BH}}_{5}{]}^{2\ensuremath{-}}$ anion shrinks along $c$ axis and expands in the $ab$ plane, experiencing an anisotropic virtual high pressure. This mechanism, namely charge transfer modulated virtual high-pressure effect, plays a vital role in enhancing the structural stability and leading to the reemergence of ambient-pressure-forbidden $[{\mathrm{BH}}_{5}{]}^{2\ensuremath{-}}$ anion around 1 GPa in ${\mathrm{CsBH}}_{5}$. Moreover, we find that ${\mathrm{CsBH}}_{5}$ is a strongly coupled superconductor, with transition temperature as high as 98 K, well above the liquid-nitrogen temperature. Our findings provide a novel mechanism to reduce the critical pressure required by hydrogen-rich compound without changing its crystal structure, and also shed light on searching ambient-pressure high-temperature superconductivity in metal borohydrides.

Influence of Fe on the Hydrogen Storage Properties of LaCeNi Alloys.

LaNi5 intermetallic compounds with a hexagonal CaCu5 type structure can react reversibly with hydrogen. The element substitutions in LaNi5 can significantly change the hydrogenation properties, allowing to tune them to a large extent. It could be very advantageous to partially replace Ni or La with other elements to reduce the cost of this alloy as well as the equilibrium pressure of absorption and desorption. The hydrogen storage properties of ball-milled AB5 alloys containing the elements La, Ce (A-rare elements) and Ni, Fe (B-transition metals) were studied in this paper. Although the substitution of Ni (atomic radius 1.49 Å) with Fe atom (atomic radius 1.56 Å) increased the unit cell volume from 86.4149 to 87.947 5 Å3 of the LaNi5 phase, its hydrogen storage capacity was still close to the value 1.4 wt %. The enthalpy (ΔH) of hydride formation for hydrogen absorption and desorption of the experimental alloys was in the range of 29-32.6 kJ/mol. A very favorable effect of Fe on the sorption properties was found in the significant reduction of the equilibrium pressure of absorption and desorption. These studied experimental Fe-containing alloys were able to store hydrogen at 300 K and with pressure under 0.1 MPa. The fastest sorption kinetics of hydrogen was found in alloys with FeNi phase particles located on the surface of the powder. However, if the FeNi phase was segregated at the grain boundaries, it acted as a barrier limiting the growth of the hydride phase. This led to a decrease of the hydride sorption kinetics.

Impact of yttrium hydride formation on multi-isotopic hydrogen retention by a getter trap for the DONES lithium loop

Compliance with imposed hydrogen concentration limits in the lithium loop of the DEMO-Oriented Neutron Source (DONES) requires the installation of an yttrium-based hydrogen trap. To determine an appropriate H-trap design, it is essential to have access to a numerical tool capable of simulating hydrogen transport in the DONES lithium loop connected to an yttrium pebble-bed. In the past, a simplified model was created that allows such calculations when hydrogen concentrations in the lithium are low. However, in certain DONES operating phases, the concentration in the lithium is high and in a range where yttrium dihydride (YH2) formation is likely. Due to the anticipated great impact of YH2 formation on the H-trap performance a new model is developed that includes the mechanism of hydride formation. It is based on a mathematical reproduction of complete pressure-composition isotherms of the Li–H and Y–H systems. Thus, the conditions that trigger YH2 formation are determined and the variation of hydrogen solubility in different yttrium hydride phases is deduced. An approximate concentration-dependent relationship of hydrogen diffusivity in yttrium is derived and incorporated into the model. Simulations are performed to analyze the dynamics of the concentration decrease during purification of the lithium circuit prior to the experimental DONES phase by varying design parameters of the trap. It is found that hydride formation greatly increases the hydrogen gettering capacity of the H-trap and limits the maximum concentration in the lithium. Indeed, YH2 formation may be purposefully triggered to exploit its beneficial properties for DONES. Simulations of the hydrogen purification process during the experimental phase of DONES show that the H-trap must be replaced at least every 28 days to meet tritium limits. This work sets the conditions for the required pebble-bed mass of the H-trap at a given temperature to comply with the DONES safety requirements. Finally, the model is validated by numerical reproduction of experimental results.

Enhanced hydrogen storage properties of Ti–Cr–Nb alloys by melt-spin and Mo-doping

Ti–Cr–Nb hydrogen storage alloys with a body centered cubic (BCC) structure have been successfully prepared by melt-spin and Mo-doping. The crystalline structure, solidification microstructural evolution, and hydrogen storage properties of the corresponding alloys were characterized in details. The results showed that the hydrogen storage capacity of Ti–Cr–Nb ingot alloys increased from 2.2 wt% up to around 3.5 wt% under the treatment of melt-spin and Mo-doping. It is ascribed that the single BCC phase of Ti–Cr–Nb alloys was stabilized after melt-spin and Mo-doping, which has a higher theoretical hydrogen storage site than the Laves phase. Furthermore, the melt-spin alloy after Mo doping can further effectively increase the de-/absorption plateau pressure. The hydrogen desorption enthalpy change ΔH of the melt-spin alloy decreased from 48.94 kJ/mol to 43.93 kJ/mol after Mo-doping. The short terms cycling test also manifests that Mo-doping was effective in improving the cycle durability of the Ti–Cr–Nb alloys. And the BCC phase of the Ti–Cr–Nb alloys could form body centered tetragonal (BCT) or face center cubic (FCC) hydride phase after hydrogen absorption and transform to the original BCC phase after desorption process. This study might provide reference for developing reversible metal hydrides with favorable cost and acceptable hydrogen storage characteristics.

Hydrogen Absorption Reactions of Hydrogen Storage Alloy LaNi5 under High Pressure.

Hydrogen can be stored in the interstitial sites of the lattices of intermetallic compounds. To date, intermetallic compound LaNi5 or related LaNi5-based alloys are known to be practical hydrogen storage materials owing to their higher volumetric hydrogen densities, making them a compact hydrogen storage method and allowing stable reversible hydrogen absorption and desorption reactions to take place at room temperature below 1.0 MPa. By contrast, gravimetric hydrogen density is required for key improvements (e.g., gravimetric hydrogen density of LaNi5: 1.38 mass%). Although hydrogen storage materials have typically been evaluated for their hydrogen storage properties below 10 MPa, reactions between hydrogen and materials can be facilitated above 1 GPa because the chemical potential of hydrogen dramatically increases at a higher pressure. This indicates that high-pressure experiments above 1 GPa could clarify the latent hydrogen absorption reactions below 10 MPa and potentially explore new hydride phases. In this study, we investigated the hydrogen absorption reaction of LaNi5 above 1 GPa at room temperature to understand their potential hydrogen storage capacities. The high-pressure experiments on LaNi5 with and without an internal hydrogen source (BH3NH3) were performed using a multi-anvil-type high-pressure apparatus, and the reactions were observed using in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction with an energy dispersive method. The results showed that 2.07 mass% hydrogen was absorbed by LaNi5 at 6 GPa. Considering the unit cell volume expansion, the estimated hydrogen storage capacity could be 1.5 times higher than that obtained from hydrogen absorption reaction below 1.0 MPa at 303 K. Thus, 33% of the available interstitial sites in LaNi5 remained unoccupied by hydrogen atoms under conventional conditions. Although the hydrogen-absorbed LaNi5Hx (x < 9) was maintained below 573 K at 10 GPa, LaNi5Hx began decomposing into NiH, and the formation of a new phase was observed at 873 K and 10 GPa. The new phase was indexed to a hexagonal or trigonal unit cell with a ≈ 4.44 Å and c ≈ 8.44 Å. Further, the newly-formed phase was speculated to be a new hydride phase because the Bragg peak positions and unit cell parameters were inconsistent with those reported for the La-Ni intermetallic compounds and La-Ni hydride phases.