Enhanced joint catalysis of YH sub(2)/Y sub(2)O sub(3) on dehydrogenation of MgH sub(2)

This work presents the in-situ preparation of YH sub(2)/Y sub(2)O sub(3) nanocomposite and its catalytic effect on the dehydrogenation of MgH sub(2). The YH sub(2) was formed by the hydrogenation of original Mg sub(93)Y sub(7) alloy powder, the in-situ formed YH sub(2) particles of ca. 50 nm were highly dispersed on the surface of MgH sub(2) particles. The Y sub(2)O sub(3) was obtained due to accident oxidization of alloy in the kinetic measurement. Compared with the YH sub(2) catalyzed MgH sub(2), the YH sub(2)/Y sub(2)O sub(3) catalyzed MgH sub(2) showed better hydrogen storage kinetic properties, especially the dehydrogenation rate was dramatically increased by 3 times. This result demonstrates the feasibility of massive production of efficient composite catalysts for the Mg-base hydrogen storage alloys by controllable hydrogenation and oxidization treatment.