Effects of ultra-high pressure on phase compositions, phase configurations and hydrogen storage properties of LaMg4Ni alloys

The influences of ultrahigh pressure (UHP, under 5 GPa) on phase compositions, phase morphologies and hydrogen storage properties of LaMg4Ni alloys were studied. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the as-cast alloy consists of La2Mg17, LaMg2Ni and Mg2Ni phases, whereas a new LaMg3 phase is observed in the UHP samples in addition to LaMg2Ni and Mg2Ni phases. The scanning electron microscopy graphs indicate that the phase distribution is more homogenous in the UHP alloys than in the as-cast one. Additionally, the microstructure of the UHP alloy heat-treated at 973 K is finer than that at 823 K. Both the reversible hydrogen storage capacity and the plateau of hydrogen pressure of the UHP alloys are close to those of the as-cast one. Of particular interest is that both UHP alloys exhibit better activation properties compared with the as-cast alloy. Moreover, the dehydriding onset temperature of the UHP alloys (5 GPa at 973 K) is about 490 K, which is obviously lower than that of the as-cast alloy. The amount of hydrogen desorption in the UHP alloy (5 GPa at 973 K) is 2.69 wt.% at 573 K, which corresponds to 89.6% of the saturated capacity. However, the corresponding values change to 1.75 wt.% and 58.3% in the as-cast alloy, respectively. It is confirmed the UHP treatment is one of effective approaches to tune the hydrogen storage performances of those rare earth-magnesium-nickel alloys.