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Improving dehydrogenation properties of Mg/Nb composite films via tuning Nb distributions

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Abstract

To investigate the effect of Nb on the dehydrogenation properties of Mg–Nb composite films, Mg/Nb eight-layer film and Mg-10 at% Nb alloy film with the similar Mg-to-Nb atomic ratio were prepared by magnetron sputtering. Results show that both Mg/Nb eight-layer film and Mg-10 at% Nb alloy film exhibit excellent de/hydrogenation properties. Mg-10 at% Nb alloy film starts to release hydrogen at 108 °C, and its desorption peak temperature is lower to 146 °C, which is much better than that of pure MgH2 under the same condition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results demonstrate that the dispersive Nb nanoparticles in Mg/Nb eight-layer film may serve as nucleation sites for Mg ↔ MgH2 reactions, which can provide channels for H diffusion. For Mg-10 at% Nb alloy film, the uniform distributions of Nb can accelerate the hydrogen diffusion and effectively improve the dehydrogenation kinetics for MgH2. This study provides an enlightening way for designing and preparing Mg-based composite films with excellent dehydrogenation properties.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51621001, 51571091, and 51471070) and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 2016A030312011 and 2014A030313222).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Storage Materials of Guangdong Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Wen-Cheng Huang, Jun Yuan, Jin-Guo Zhang, Jiang-Wen Liu, Hui Wang, Liu-Zhang Ouyang, Mei-Qin Zeng & Min Zhu

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  1. Wen-Cheng Huang
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  2. Jun Yuan
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  3. Jin-Guo Zhang
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  4. Jiang-Wen Liu
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Correspondence to Jiang-Wen Liu.

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Huang, WC., Yuan, J., Zhang, JG. et al. Improving dehydrogenation properties of Mg/Nb composite films via tuning Nb distributions. Rare Met. 36, 574–580 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-017-0913-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-017-0913-x

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