Hydrogen storage properties of magnesium-iron based materials prepared by high energy ball milling and techniques of severe plastic deformation

In the doctoral research, the hydrogen storage properties of magnesiumiron based materials prepared by high energy ball milling and techniques of severe plastic deformation were studied. The materials were processed by ball milling under inert atmosphere and reactive milling under hydrogen pressure. The techniques of high pressure torsion, cold forging and rolling were used to prepare the materials in air. Several compositions of Mg and Fe reactants were used to study the behavior of hydrogen absorption and desorption of Mg2FeH6 and MgH2 based materials. The results showed that high energy ball milling was effective to synthesize Mg2FeH6, nevertheless, long milling times (> 12 h) were required and the sample were easily contaminated when exposed to air. Between the techniques of severe plastic deformation, the best results in terms of hydrogen absorption kinetics and capacity were achieved by cold rolling. These results were similar to the milled samples ones, however, cold rolling was carried out in air and with a processing time shorter than 1 minute. The formation mechanism of Mg2FeH6 was studied by measurements of hydrogen absorption kinetics and microstructural characterization through the techniques of X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. These analyses allowed to determine that Mg2FeH6 was formed with a columnar morphology by a diffusional process during the hydrogen thermal absorption. The effects of the addition of expanded natural graphite were evaluated to the samples prepared by high energy ball milling and cold rolling. The data showed that the use of this additive resulted in faster kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption of the magnesium-iron based materials.Universidade Federal de Sao CarlosNa pesquisa de doutorado, as propriedades de armazenagem de hidrogênio de materiais à base de magnésio e ferro preparados por moagem de alta energia e técnicas de deformação plástica severa foram estudadas. Os materiais foram processados por moagem de alta energia sob atmosfera inerte e por moagem reativa sob atmosfera de hidrogênio. As técnicas de torção sob alta pressão, forjamento e laminação a frio foram usadas para preparar os materiais ao ar. Diferentes composições dos reagentes Mg e Fe foram utilizadas para estudar o comportamento de absorção e dessorção de hidrogênio de materiais à base de Mg2FeH6 e MgH2. Os resultados mostraram que a moagem de alta energia foi eficiente para sintetizar o Mg2FeH6, entretanto, longos tempos de moagem (> 12 h) foram necessários e as amostras moídas foram facilmente contaminadas quando expostas ao ar. Entre as técnicas de deformação plástica severa, os melhores resultados em relação à cinética de absorção e capacidade de armazenagem de hidrogênio foram obtidos por laminação a frio. Estes resultados foram similares aos das amostras moídas, porém, a laminação foi realizada ao ar e com um tempo de processamento menor que 1 minuto. O mecanismo de formação do Mg2FeH6 foi estudado através de medidas da cinética de absorção de hidrogênio e da caracterização microestrutural pelas técnicas de difração de raios-X e microscopia eletrônica de transmissão e varredura. Estas análises permitiram determinar que o Mg2FeH6 foi formado com uma morfologia colunar através de um processo difusional durante o processo de absorção térmica de hidrogênio. Os efeitos da adição de grafite natural expandido como um aditivo foram avaliados para as amostras processadas por moagem de alta energia e laminação a frio. Os dados mostraram que o uso deste aditivo resultou numa mais rápida cinética de absorção e dessorção de hidrogênio dos materiais à base de magnésio e ferro

Investigation of Effect of Milling Atmosphere and Starting Composition on Mg2FeH6 Formation

In this study we investigated the synthesis and the hydrogen storage properties of Mg2FeH6. The complex hydride was prepared by ball milling under argon and hydrogen atmosphere from 2Mg + Fe and 2MgH2 + Fe compositions. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microcopy. Kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption were measured in a Sievert’s apparatus. We found that the milling atmosphere plays a more important role on Mg2FeH6 synthesis than the starting compositions. Ball milling under hydrogen pressure resulted in smaller particles sizes and doubled the yield of Mg2FeH6 formation. Despite the microstructural differences after ball milling, all samples had similar hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics. Loss of capacity was observed after only five cycles of hydrogen absorption/desorption