Threshold character of temperatures on deuterium thermal desorption in Mg-V composite grown atom-by-atom

The plasma evaporation-sputtering method was applied to make composite materials of the Mg-V system. The ion-implanted deuterium desorption temperature variations as a function of the component concentration were studied. It has been established that, by introducing vanadium into magnesium, the deuterium desorption temperature can be appreciably decreased (to 300-330 K) in comparison with the case of deuterium desorption from magnesium (~800 K). A step-like form of the curve of deuterium desorption temperature evidences on the presence of two different structure states of the Mg-V system depending on the ratio of components. The deuterium temperature decrease can be caused by filamentary inclusions formed, in the process of composite making and annealing, by the insoluble component (vanadium) atoms providing the deuterium diffusion from the sample at a lower temperature (channels for deuterium diffusion through the surface barrier). A necessary high diffusion mobility of deuterium is provided by the amorphous state of Mg83+xVx samples. The deuterium desorption data obtained on the example of Mg-V and Mg-Zr composites provide support for further research into hydrogen storage materials containing low-soluble chemical elements in the alloy components.