Structure and high-temperature electrochemical properties of La0.60Nd0.15Mg0.25Ni3.3Si0.10 hydrogen storage alloys

The structure and high-temperature electrochemical properties of the as-cast and annealed (940 °C, 8 h) La0.60Nd0.15Mg0.25Ni3.3Si0.10 hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the multiphase structure of the as-cast alloy with LaNi5 phase as the main phase was converted into a double-phase structure with La2Ni7 phase as the main phase after annealing. The surface morphology studied by scanning electronic microscope (SEM) showed that the annealed alloy had a much higher anti-corrosion ability than the as-cast alloy. Both alloys presented excellent activation characteristics at all test temperatures. The maximum discharge capacity of the as-cast alloy decreased when the test temperature increased, while the temperature almost had no effect on the annealed alloy. As the test temperature increased, the cyclic stability and charge retention of both alloys decreased, and these properties were improved significantly by annealing.