Effectively enhanced hydrogen storage properties of Mg₉₀Al₁₀ catalyzed by CeF₃

Magnesium-based hydrogen storage alloy serves as an ideal substance for hydrogen storage and transportation because of its high hydrogen storage capacity, low expense, and eco-friendly properties. However, the stable thermodynamic properties and poor kinetic properties during de/hydrogenation limit its application. In this work, a novel high-efficiency catalyst CeF₃ was successfully synthesized and induced into Mg₉₀Al₁₀, which exhibited excellent performance during de/hydrogenation. In particular, the Mg₉₀Al₁₀ + 8 wt% CeF₃ can absorb 4.0 wt% hydrogen within 600 s at 200 °C, and release 4.3 wt% hydrogen within 900 s at 275 °C, better than the Mg₉₀Al₁₀ that can only absorb 1.36 wt% and release 0.3 wt% hydrogen in similar conditions. Meanwhile, the introduction of CeF₃ can also decrease the dehydrogenation apparent activation energy (E_a) of Mg₉₀Al₁₀ obviously from 155.95 kJ/mol to 79.31 kJ/mol. The Al₄Ce and MgF₂ formed in situ, combined with the high thermal conductivity of Al in charge of the good hydrogen storage behavior of Mg₉₀Al₁₀ + 8 wt% CeF₃. The study results are of great importance for applying Mg-Al hydrides in solid-state hydrogen storage.