Hydrogen Production for Fuel Cells in Reaction of Activated Aluminum with Water

The paper discusses the issues concerning producing of compact hydrogen resources for fuel cells. The suggested alternative is implementation of the reaction of activated aluminum with water. In the paper, as an activator Ga-In liquid eutectic alloy is used. One of the main features of the study is using various industrial aluminum alloys as basic materials. With the help of scanning electron microscopy investigation with local element analysis the process of activation of technical alloy on aluminum basis treated by Ga-In eutectic is studied. Such processing leads, on the one hand, to the intense embrittlement, on the other hand – to the sharp increase in material chemical activity in relation to water with hydrogen emission. It is demonstrated, that activated aluminum can be prospective energy carrier for small-scale hydrogen power energetics.