Decorating crystalline YFe_(2-x)Al_(x) on the Mg_(60)La_(10)Ni_(20)Cu_(10) amorphous alloy as “hydrogen pump” to realize fast de/hydrogenation

Mg-based amorphous alloys are one of the potential hydrogen storage materials but suffer from sluggish dehydrogenation/hydrogenation(de/hydrogenation)kinetics.In this work,as a new strategy,a hydrogen pump is built on the surface of amorphous alloys to solve this problem.By milling crystalline YFe_(2-x)Al_(x) hydrogen storage alloy with Mg_(60)La_(10)Ni_(20)Cu_(10) amorphous alloy,fine crystalline particles were seeded on amorphous alloy powder to form a“strawberry”structure.According to the TEM observation,a metallurgical bonding boundary formed between the Mg-based amorphous matrix and the Y-Fe-Al crystalline alloy.By microstructure and de/hydrogenation kinetics investigation,the“hydrogen pump”effect of the seeded crystalline alloy was confirmed,which makes it much easier for the hydrogen to dissociate on and diffuse through the surface of the Mg-based amorphous alloy.With such effect,the H absorption rate of Mg_(60)La_(10)Ni_(20)Cu_(10) amorphous alloy became almost eight times faster and it absorbs ~2.8 wt.% in 1 h at 130℃ under 4.5 MPa-H_(2).Further,fast hydrogenation can even achieve at 70℃ and the low-temperature dehydrogenation kinetics of the amorphous hydride can be also greatly promoted.The present work proves that surface modification is of great importance for obtaining Mg-based amorphous alloy with ideal hydrogen storage performance.

Constructing two-scale network microstructure with nano-Ti5Si3 for superhigh creep resistance

The improvement of mechanical properties must be achieved by designing and constructing more suitable microstructure,such as hierarchical microstructure.In order to significantly enhance the creep resistance of titanium matrix composites(TMCs),two-scale network microstructure was constructed including the first-scale network(<150μm)with micro-TiB whisker(TiBw)reinforcement and the second-scale network(<30μm)with nano-Ti5Si3 reinforcement by powder metallurgy and in-situ synthesis.The results showed that the creep rate of the composite was remarkably reduced by an order of magnitude compared with the Ti6Al4V alloy at 550℃,600℃,650℃ under the stresses between 100 MPa and 350 MPa.Moreover,the rupture time of the composite was increased by 20 times,compared with that of the Ti6Al4 Valloy at 550℃/300 MPa.The superior creep resistance could be attributed to the hierarchical microstructure.The micro-TiBw reinforcement in the first-scale network boundary contributed to creep resistance primarily by blocking grain boundary sliding,while the nano-Ti5Si3 particle in the second-scale network boundary mainly by hindering phase boundary sliding.In addition,the nano-Ti5Si3 particle was dissolved,and precipitated with smaller size than the primary Ti5Si3.This phenomenon was attributed to Si element diffusion under high temperature and external stress,which could further continuously enhance the creep resistance.Finally,the creep rate during steady-state stage was significantly decreased,which manifested superior creep resistance of the composite.