The structural characterization and H2 sorption properties of carbon-supported Mg1-xNix nanocrystallites

Magnesium (hydride) is a promising system for the reversible on-board storage of hydrogen, but suffers from slow sorption kinetics and a high thermodynamic stability of the hydride. We explored a combined approach to tackle these problems: nanosizing and carbon-supporting the magnesium, and doping it with nickel. Samples were prepared by melt infiltration with magnesium of nanoporous carbon onto which 1-12 wt% nickel nanoparticles had been predeposited. For loadings up to 15 wt% MgH2, 10-30 nm crystallites with different compositions were formed inside the porous carbon, each giving a specific H-2 desorption signature. Surprisingly, higher Mg loadings resulted in more homogeneously mixed samples, which was due to the facilitated wetting of the carbon with the magnesium due to the presence of nickel. Hydrogen release temperatures close to that of Mg2NiH4 were observed for high MgH2 loadings (50 wt%) and small amounts of Ni (Mg0.95Ni0.05). The favourable H-2 desorption properties could mainly be attributed to excellent kinetics due to the efficient mixing of magnesium, nickel and carbon on the nanoscale.