Studies on Ti-Zr-Cr-Mn-Fe-V based alloys for hydrogen compression under mild thermal conditions of water bath

•Ti-Cr based alloys are investigated for H2 compressor at water-bath temperatures.•Effects of element partial substitution on the alloy properties are studied.•Ti0.88Zr0.14Cr0.9Mn0.2Fe0.8V0.1 has great comprehensive properties for application. Moderate operating temperatures and inert heat transfer medium are necessary for improving the safety of thermal hydrogen compression applications. In this work, the structural characteristics and hydrogen storage properties of Ti0.85Zr0.17Cr1.7-xMn0.2FexV0.1 (x = 0.7, 0.8, 0.9) and Ti0.82+yZr0.20-yCr0.9Mn0.2Fe0.8V0.1 (y = 0, 0.03, 0.06) alloys for hydrogen compression under moderate thermal conditions of water bath were systematically investigated. The results show that all the alloys have a single C14 Laves phase. With increasing the Fe content in Ti0.85Zr0.17Cr1.7-xMn0.2FexV0.1 (x = 0.7–0.9) or Ti content in Ti0.82+yZr0.20-yCr0.9Mn0.2Fe0.8V0.1 (y = 0–0.06) alloys, the hydrogen plateau pressure is obviously raised, however, the hydrogen storage capacity declines slightly. Flattened hydrogen plateau is also achieved when the Ti content increases. Therein, Ti0.88Zr0.14Cr0.9Mn0.2Fe0.8V0.1 alloy, with achievement of hydrogen compression from 6.13 MPa at 293 K up to 23.73 MPa at 353 K and hydrogen capacity of 1.64 wt%, outperforms the others for the proposed thermal hydrogen compressor.