The electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of Si-added La–Mg–Ni–Co-based A_2B_7-type electrode alloys

In order to improve the electrochemical cycle stability of the RE–Mg–Ni-based A2B7-type electrode alloys, a small amount of Si has been added into the alloys.The casting and annealing technologies were adopted to fabricate the La0.8Mg0.2Ni3.3Co0.2Six(x = 0–0.2) electrode alloys. The impacts of the addition of Si and annealing treatment on the structures and electrochemical performances of the alloys were investigated systematically. The results obtained by XRD and SEM show that all the as-cast and annealed alloys are of a multiphase structure, involving two main phases(La, Mg)2Ni7and La Ni5 as well as a residual phase La Ni3. Both adding Si and the annealing treatment lead to an evident change in the phase abundance and cell parameters of(La, Mg)2Ni7and La Ni5 major phases of the alloy without altering its main phase component. Moreover, the annealing treatment has the composition of the alloy distributed more homogeneously overall and simultaneously causes the grain of the alloy to be coarsened obviously. The electrochemical measurements indicate that adding Si and the annealing treatment give a significant rise to the influence on the electrochemical performances of the alloys. In brief, the cycle stability of the as-cast and annealed alloys evidently increases with the rising of Si content, while their discharge capacities obviously decrease under the same circumstances. Furthermore, the electrochemical kineticproperties of the electrode alloys, including the high rate discharge ability, the limiting current density(IL), hydrogen diffusion coefficient(D), and the charge-transfer resistance, first augment and then decline with the rising of Si content. Similarly, it is found that the above-mentioned electrochemical properties first mount up and then go down with the rising annealing temperature.