Comparative study of hydrogen in La(28.9)Ni(67.55)Si(3.55) and LaNi5

LaNi5 is an important intermetallic compound for hydrogen storage. In the present work Ni has been substituted by Si in LaNi5 to form La(28.9)Ni(67.55)Si(3.55). The hydrogen absorption characteristics of La(28.9)Ni(67.55)Si(3.55) are studied with reference to pure LaNi5. The H/M ratio for La(28.9)Ni(67.55)Si(3.55) and LaNi5 is found to be 1.0 and 1.2 at 1.04 and 1.3 atm pressure of hydrogen, respectively. It was found that La(28.9)Ni(67.55)Si(3.55) is a better material than LaNi5 due to ease in activation and lower plateau pressure for absorption, but its content of hydrogen is less than LaNi5.