Enhanced hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 by the synergetic catalysis of Zr0.4Ti0.6Co nanosheets and carbon nanotubes

Transition metal nanoparticles have shown great catalytic effect on MgH 2 , yet excellent cyclic stability can be attached due to the addition of carbon nanotubes. In this paper, MgH 2  + 10 wt% Zr 0.4 Ti 0.6 Co /5 wt% Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite is designed to investigate the synergistic modification of Zr 0.4 Ti 0.6 Co nanosheets and carbon nanotubes on the hydrogen storage performance of MgH 2 . Compared with pure MgH 2 , the initial hydrogen release temperature of MgH 2  + 10 wt% Zr 0.4 Ti 0.6 Co /5 wt% CNTs composite decreases to 180 °C and the composite can quickly release 90% H 2 within 10 min at 300 °C. In addition, the completely dehydrogenated sample can absorb 3.51 wt% H 2 within 20 min under 3 Mpa hydrogen pressure at 125 °C. Ulteriorly, the activation energy values of dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation of MgH 2 decrease to 70.5 ± 7.8 kJ/mol and 35.8 ± 3.8 kJ/mol on account of the presence of 10 wt% Zr 0.4 Ti 0.6 Co/5 wt% CNTs , which reasonably explains the remarkable reduction of the temperature for hydrogen sorption. Furthermore, the MgH 2  + 10 wt% Zr 0.4 Ti 0.6 Co /5 wt% CNTs composite shows excellent cycling performance, indicative of potential application in practical hydrogen storage in the nearest future.