Effects of preparation method on the hydrolytic hydrogen production performance of Al-rich alloys

Al-rich alloys prepared by milling and melting were characterized by a range of instrumental analysis techniques and employed for hydrolytic hydrogen production. The hydrolysis reaction of each Al-rich alloy with water was measured. The hydrolysis properties of Al-rich alloys prepared by milling method were superior to those prepared by melting method with same composition. In particular, the Al-5wt%Ga-3wt%In-5wt%Sn alloy prepared by milling featured better hydrolysis properties than that obtained by melting, achieving a hydrogen yield of 1146.0 mL g −1 and a maximum hydrogen generation rate of 840.0 mL min −1  g −1 in tap water within 10 min at 25 °C and atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the phase compositions, chemical states, elemental distributions, and thermal behaviors of melting and milling samples were investigated, and the activation mechanism was discussed as well.