Effect of catalytic Pd coating on the hydrogen storage performances of ZrCo alloy by electroless plating method

The effects of Pd coating with different deposition concentration (PdCl2 0.2 g L−1, 0.6 g L−1, 1.0 g L−1) on the surface morphology, microstructure and hydrogen storage performances of ZrCo alloy have been investigated. Results show that spherical Pd particles have been deposited on the surface of ZrCo alloy successfully, which transfer from sparse arrangement to continuous and compact film with increasing deposition concentration of PdCl2. The hydriding kinetic property of all Pd coated alloys is improved compared with the bare alloy, which is due to the catalyst effect of Pd coating. The hydriding rate of the samples firstly increases and then decreases with increasing deposition concentration, which is closely related to the surface morphology and thickness of Pd coating. The hydriding kinetic property of the samples is greatly improved after 5 cycles, although Pd particles on the alloy surface peel off to some extent. This phenomenon indicates that the accumulated fresh surface during cycling makes a greater contribution to the improved hydriding kinetic property and the catalyst effect of Pd coating is weakened during cycling.