Remarkable kinetics of novel Ni@CeO2–MgH2 hydrogen storage composite

Magnesium hydroxide (MgH 2 ) has excellent reversibility and high capacity, and is one of the most promising materials for hydrogen storage in practical applications. However, it suffers from high dehydrogenation temperature and slow sorption kinetics. Rare earth hydrides and transition metals can both significantly improve the de/hydrogenation kinetics of MgH 2 . In this work, MgH 2 –Mg 2 NiH 4 –CeH 2.73 is in-situ synthesized by introducing Ni@CeO 2 into MgH 2 . The unique coating structure of Ni@CeO 2 facilitates homogeneous distribution of synergetic CeH 2.73 and Mg 2 NiH 4 catalytic sites in subsequent ball milling process. The as-fabricated composite MgH 2 -10 wt% Ni@CeO 2 powders possess superior hydrogenation/dehydrogenation characteristics, absorbing 4.1 wt% hydrogen within 60 min at 100 °C and releasing 5.44 wt% H 2 within 10 min at 350 °C. The apparent activation energy of MgH 2 -10 wt% Ni@CeO 2 is determined to be 84.8 kJ/mol and it has favorable hydrogen cycling stability with almost no decay in capacity after 10 cycles.