Mössbauer study of Mg-Ni(Fe) alloys processed as materials for solid state hydrogen storage

Abstract Mg-Ni-Fe magnesium-rich intermetallic compounds were prepared following two distinct routes. A Mg88Ni11Fe1 sample (A) was prepared by melt spinning Mg-Ni-Fe pellets and then by high-energy ball milling for 6 h the obtained ribbons. A (MgH2)88Ni11Fe1 sample (B) was obtained by high-energy ball milling for 20 h a mixture ofNi, Fe and MgH2 powders in the due proportions. A SPEX8000 shaker mill with a 10∶1 ball to powder ratio was used for milling in argon atmosphere. The samples were submitted to repeated hydrogen absorption/desorption cycles in a Sievert type gas-solid reaction controller at temperatures in the range 520÷590 K and a maximum pressure of 2.5 MPa during absorption. The samples were analysed before and after the hydrogen absorption/ desorption cycles by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results concerning the hydrogen storage properties of the studied compounds are discussed in connection with the micro-structural characteristics found by means of the used analytical techniques. The improved kinetics of hydrogen desorption for sample A, in comparison to sample B, has been ascribed to the different behaviour of iron atoms in the two cases, as proved by Mössbauer spectroscopy. In fact, iron results homogeneously distributed in sample A, partly at the Mg2Ni grain boundaries, with catalytic effect on the gas-solid reaction; in sample B, instead, iron is dispersed inside the hydride powder as metallic iron or superparamagnetic iron.