Simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry and thermal desorption spectroscopy measurements for the study of the decomposition of metal hydrides

An innovative experimental method to investigate the thermal decomposition of metal hydrides is presented. The method is based on an experimental setup composed of a differential scanning calorimeter connected through a capillary tube to a mass spectrometer. The experimental system allows the simultaneous determination of the heat absorbed and the hydrogen evolved from a metal hydride during thermal decomposition. This arrangement constitutes a coupled differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) technique. It has been applied to metal hydride materials to demonstrate the capability of the experimental system. A method to obtain the heat of decomposition of metal hydrides is described. It involves the measurement of an apparent decomposition heat as a function of the carrier gas flow. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.