X-ray diffraction study of thermal parameters of Pd, Pd–Ag and Pd–Ag–Cu alloys as hydrogen purification membrane materials

High temperature X-ray diffraction measurements were carried out for pure palladium and palladium-rich alloys of compositions Pd0.77Ag0.23 and Pd0.77Ag0.10Cu0.13 in the temperature range of 298–1023 K at an interval of 50 K. The lattice parameters, coefficient of thermal expansion and X-ray Debye temperature of these materials were calculated as a function of temperature from the XRD data. The lattice parameter of Pd0.77Ag0.23 alloy was found to be higher than that of palladium, whereas the lattice parameter of Pd0.77Ag0.10Cu0.13 was found to be lower than that of palladium in the temperature range of investigation. Further, the lattice parameters of both the palladium alloys show negative deviation from Vegard's law and the deviation was found to increase with increase in temperature. The average value of coefficient of linear thermal expansion was found to follow the trend: αT (Pd)>αT (Pd0.77Ag0.23)>αT (Pd0.77Ag0.10Cu0.13). The X-ray Debye temperatures of Pd0.77Ag0.23 and Pd0.77Ag0.10Cu0.13 alloys were calculated and found to be 225±10 and 165±10 K, respectively.