Effect of additive distribution in H2 absorption and desorption kinetics in MgH2 milled with NbH0.9 or NbF5

This paper presents a comparative study of H2 absorption and desorption in MgH2 milled with NbF5 or NbH0.9. The addition of NbF5 or NbH0.9 greatly improves hydriding and dehydriding kinetics. After 80 h of milling the mixture of MgH2 with 7 mol.% of NbF5 absorbs 60% of its hydrogen capacity at 250 °C in 30 s, whereas the mixture with 7 mol.% of NbH0.9 takes up 48%, and MgH2 milled without additive only absorbs 2%. At the same temperature, hydrogen desorption in the mixture with NbF5 finishes in 10 min, whereas the mixture with NbH0.9 only desorbs 50% of its hydrogen content, and MgH2 without additive practically does not releases hydrogen. The kinetic improvement is attributed to NbH0.9, a phase observed in the hydrogen cycled MgH2 + NbF5 and MgH2 + NbH0.9 materials, either hydrided or dehydrided. The better kinetic performance of the NbF5-added material is attributed to the combination of smaller size and enhanced distribution of NbH0.9 with more favorable microstructural characteristics. The addition of NbF5 also produces the formation of Mg(HxF1-x)2 solid solutions that limit the practically achievable hydrogen storage capacity of the material. These undesired effects are discussed.