Preparation and hydrogen storage property of Mg-based hydrogen storage composite embedded by polymethyl methacrylate

A novel embedded Mg-based hydrogen storage nanocomposite was prepared by mechanical milling of hydriding combustion synthesized (HCS) Mg-based hydride and hydrogen permissive/oxygen prohibitive polymer. The Mg-based hydride was mechanically milled with tetrahydrofuran solution of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) under argon atmosphere. It is determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis that the average grain size of all the milled nanocomposites become smaller and the nanocomposites exhibit a good air-stable property. The microstructures of the nanocomposites obtained by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analyses show that Mg₉₅Ni₅ particles embedded by PMMA have a diameter of smaller than 100 nm, approximately. The nanocomposites show the optimal hydriding/dehydriding properties, requiring 60 min to absorb 3.37 wt.% hydrogen at low temperature of 473 K, and desorbing as high as 1.02 wt.% hydrogen within 120 min at the same temperature. The onset dehydriding temperature of the composites is about 373 K, which is 150 K lower than that of HCS products Mg₉₅Ni₅.