Influence of magnesium on electrochemical properties of RE3-xMgx(Ni0.7Co0.2Mn0.1)9（x=0.5-1.25） alloy electrodes

RE3-xMgx(Ni0.7Co0.2Mn0.1)9 (x=0.5-1.25) alloys were prepared by induction melting and the influence of the partial substitution of RE (where RE stands for La-rich mischmetal) by Mg on the hydrogen storage and electrochemical properties of the alloys were investigated systematically. These alloys mainly consisted of three phases, La(Ni,Mn,Co)5 phase, La2Ni7 phase and Mg2Ni phase. The P-C-T isotherms showed that with Mg content increasing in the alloys, the hydrogen storage capacity first increased and reached the maximum capacity of 1.36 wt.% when x=1.0, and then decreased with x increasing further. Electrochemical studies revealed that the discharge capacity reached the maximum value of 380 mAh/g and the alloy electrode presented better cyclic stability when RE/Mg=2. The high rate discharge ability of the alloy electrodes was also improved by the substitution of Mg for RE. The RE2Mg(Ni0.7Co0.2Mn0.1)9 alloy exhibited better hydrogen absorption kinetics (x=1.0).)     

An investigation of hydrogen storage kinetics of melt-spun nanocrystalline and amorphous MgeNi-type alloys

The nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type Mg2–xLaxNi (x=0,0.2) hydrogen storage alloys were synthesized by melt-spinning technique.The as-spun alloy ribbons were obtained.The microstructures of the as-spun ribbons were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM) and electron diffraction (ED).The hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics of the alloys were measured using an automatically controlled Sieverts apparatus,and their electrochemical kinetics were tested by an automatic galvanostatic system.The electrochemical impedance spectrums (EIS) were plotted by an electrochemical workstation (PARSTAT 2273).The hydrogen diffusion coefficients in the alloys were calculated by virtue of potential-step method.The obtained results showed that no amorphous phase was detected in the as-spun La-free alloy,but the as-spun alloys substituted by La held a major amorphous phase,con-firming that the substitution of La for Mg markedly intensified the glass forming ability of the Mg2Ni-type alloy.The substitution of La for Mg notably improved the electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the Mg2Ni-type alloy.Furthermore,the hydrogen storage kinetics of the experimental alloys was evidently ameliorated with the spinning rate growing.     

Influence of elemental composition on crystal structure and hydrogen storage performance for Mg-containing alloys

The influence of elemental composition on the crystal structure, hydrogen storage and electrochemical properties for Mg-containing alloys was investigated. As La/Mg ratio decreased, the slight change of Ni content was detected. XRD results indicated that these alloys were composed of LaNi 5 and Mg-containing phases. The lattice parameters of Mg-containing phases decreased. Meanwhile, the mass fraction of Mg-containing phases varied with the change of La/Mg and Ni. The hydrogen storage capacity reached ～1.6 wt.% for La/Mg≧ 3 :1 and decreased to ～0.71 wt.% for La/Mg=1. Two hydrogen absorption processes were observed because of the existence of the multiphases for La/Mg≧ 3 :1. With decreasing La/Mg ratio, the equilibrium pressurerose due to the shrinkage of the lattice parameter. Meanwhile, one hydrogen absorption process was obviously present. The discharge capacity of these as-cast alloys was higher, but the cyclic stability was poor for La/Mg≧ 3 :1 due to the partial amorphisation. It was better for La/Mg≤2 although the discharge capacity was lower. The polarization resistance increased, contrarily the exchange current density decreased with decreasing Mg content.     

A study on hydrogen storage and electrochemical properties of La_（0.55）Pr_（0.05）Nd_（0.15）Mg_（0.25）Ni_（3.5） （Co_（0.5）Al_（0.5））_x （x=0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5） alloys

The La0.55Pr0.05Nd0.15Mg0.25Ni3.5(Co0.5Al0.5)x(x=0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) alloys were prepared by magnetic levitation melting under an Ar atmosphere, and the effects of Co and Al on the hydrogen storage and electrochemical properties were systematically investigated by pressure composition isotherms, cyclic voltammetry, Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy testing. The results showed that the alloy phases were mainly consisted of (La,Pr)(Ni,Co)5, LaMg2Ni9, (La,Nd)2Ni7 and LaNi3 phases, and the cell volumes of (La,Pr)(Ni,Co)5, LaMg2Ni9, (La,Nd)2Ni7 and LaNi3 phases expanded with Co and Al element added. The hydrogen storage capacity initially increased from 1.36 (x=0) to 1.47 wt.% (x=0.3) and then decreased to 1.22 wt.% (x=0.5). The discharge capacity retention and cycle stability of the alloy electrodes were improved with the increase of Co and Al contents. The La0.55Pr0.05Nd0.15Mg0.25Ni3.5(Co0.5Al0.5)0.3 alloy electrode possessed better electrochemical kinetic characteristic.     

Structure and electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the as-cast and annealed La0.8-xSmxMg0.2Ni3.15Co0.2Al0.1Si0.05 （x=0-0.4） alloys

In order to ameliorate the electrochemical cycle stability of the RE-Mg-Ni based A2B7-type electrode alloys, the Mg content in the alloy was reduced and La in the alloy was partially substituted by Sm. The La0.8-xSmxMg0.2Ni3.15Co0.2Al0.1Si0.05 (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) elec-trode alloys were fabricated by casting and annealing. The microstructures of the as-cast and annealed alloys were characterized by XRD and SEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the as-cast and annealed alloys were measured. The results revealed that all of the experimental alloys mainly consisted of two phases: (La,Mg)2Ni7 phase with the hexagonal Ce2Ni7-type structure and LaNi5 phase with the hexagonal CaCu5-type structure. As Sm content grew from 0 to 0.4, the discharge capacity and the high rate discharge ability (HRD) first in-creased and then decreased for the as-cast and annealed alloys, whereas the capacity retaining rate (S100) after 100 cycles increased continuously.     

Investigations on hydrogen storage properties of LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 （M=Ni, Cu, Cr） alloys

LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 (M=Ni, Cu, Cr) alloys were prepared by induction melting. X-ray diffraction showed that all the three alloys had a multiphase structure, consisting of La2Mg17, LaMg2Ni and Mg2Ni phases. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer results revealed that most of Cu and Cr distributed in Mg2Ni phase. La2Mg17 and LaMg2Ni phases decomposed into MgH2, Mg2NiH4 and LaH3 phases during the hydrogenation process. Hydriding/dehydriding measurements indicated that the reversible hydrogen storage capacities of Mg2Ni phase in LaMg8.52Ni2.23M0.15 (M=Cu, Cr) alloys increased to 1.05 wt.% and 0.97 wt.% from 0.79 wt.% of Mg2Ni phase in LaMg8.52Ni2.38 alloy at 523 K. Partial substitution of Cu and Cr for Ni decreased the onset dehydrogenation temperature of the alloy hydrides and the temperature lowered by 18.20 and 5.50 K, respectively. The improvement in the dehydrogenation property of the alloys was attributed to that Cu and Cr decreased the stability of Mg2NiH4 phase.     

Microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x（V0.81Fe0.19）x hydrogen storage alloys

Microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x(V0.81Fe0.19)x hydrogen storage alloys were investigated. XRD indicated that La0.7Ce0.3Ni3.75Mn0.35Al0.15Cu0.75-x(V0.81Fe0.19)x alloys consisted of a single phase with CaCu5-type structure, and the lattice parameter a and cell volume V increased with increasing x value. The maximum discharge capacity first increased from 319.0 (x=0) to 324.0 mAh/g (x=0.05), and then decreased to 307.0 mAh/g (x=0.20). The high-rate dischargeability at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g first increased from 52.1% (x=0) to 59.1% (x=0.15), and then decreased to 55.4% (x=0.20). The hydrogen diffusion in the bulky alloy was responsible for the high-rate dischargeability. Cycling stability first increased with increasing x from 0 to 0.10 and then decreased when x increased to 0.20, which was resulted from the synthesized effect of the improvement of the pulverization resistance and the decrease of corrosion resistance.     

Electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the nanocrystalline and amorphous（Mg24 Ni10 Cu2）100-x Ndx（x=0–20） alloys applied to Ni-MH battery

Melt spinning technology was used to prepare the Mg2 Ni-type（Mg24 Ni10 Cu2）100–x Ndx（x=0,5,10,15,20） alloys in order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure.The effects of Nd content and spinning rate on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys were investigated.The structure characterizations of X-ray diffraction（XRD）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM） linked with energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS） revealed that the as-spun Nd-free alloy displayed an entire nanocrystalline structure,whereas the as-spun Nd-added alloys held a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure and the degree of amorphization visibly increased with the rising of Nd content and spinning rate,suggesting that the addition of Nd facilitated the glass forming of the Mg2 Ni-type alloy.The electrochemical measurements indicated that the addition of Nd and melt spinning improved the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys significantly.The discharge capacities of the as-cast and spun alloys exhibited maximum values when Nd content was x=10,which were 86.4,200.5,266.3,402.5 and 452.8 mAh/g corresponding to the spinning rate of 0（As-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s）,10,20,30 and 40 m/s,respectively.The cycle stability（S20,the capacity maintain rate at 20thcycle） of the as-cast alloy always rose with the increasing of Nd content,and those of the as-spun alloys exhibited the maximum values for Nd content x=10,which were 77.9%,83.4% 89.2% and 89.7%,corresponding to the spinning rate of 10,20,30 and 40 m/s,respectively.     

Phase structure and hydrogen storage properties of LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy

The phase structure and hydrogen storage property of LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy were studied.XRD and SEM results exhibited that LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy consisted mainly of LaMg3,La2Mg17 and LaMg2Ni phases;after hydriding/dehydriding process,all the three phases transformed,La3H7 phase existed and the actual hydrogen absorption phases were Mg and Mg2Ni phases.Pressure-composition-temperature (P-C-T)measurement showed that the reversible hydrogen storage capacity of LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy was 2.63 wt.%,and the absorption time for reaching 90%of the storage capacity was 124 s at 523 K,and it was 1850 s for deabsorbing 90%of the maximum dehydrogen capacity.The hydriding process of LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy followed the nucleation and growth mechanisms.The enthalpy and entropy for hydriding and dehydriding reactions of the Mg phase in LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy were calculated to be-66.38±1.10 kJ/mol H2,-100.96±1.96 J/(K·mol)H2 and 68.50±3.87 kJ/mol H2,98.28±5.48 J/(K·mol)H2,respectively.A comparison of these data with those of MgH2(-74.50 kJ/mol H2,-132.30 J/K·mol H2)suggested that the hydride of LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy was less stable than MgH2.The existence of La hydride and synergetic effect of multiphase led to higher reversible hydrogen storage capacity and better kinetic property at lower temperature for LaMg3.93Ni0.21 alloy.     

Hydrogen storage thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of PrMg12-type alloys synthesized by mechanical milling

To improve the hydrogen storage performance of PrMg_(12)-type alloys,Ni was adopted to replace partially Mg in the alloys. The PrMg_(11)Ni+x wt.% Ni( x = 100,200) alloys were prepared via mechanical m illing. The phase structures and m orphology of the experim ental alloys were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transm ission electron microscopy. The results show that increasing milling time and Ni content accelerate the form ation of nanocrystalline and am orphous structure. The gaseous hydrogen storage properties of the experim ental alloys were determ ined by differential scanning calorim etry( DSC) and Sievert apparatus. In addition,increasing milling time makes the hydrogenation rates of the alloys augment firstly and decline subsequently and the dehydrogenation rate always increases. The maximum capacity is 5. 572 wt. % for the x = 100 alloy and 5. 829 wt. % for the x = 200 alloy,respectively. The enthalpy change( ΔH),entropy change( ΔS) and the dehydrogenation activation energy( E_k~(de)) markedly lower with increasing the milling time and the Ni content due to the generation of nanocrystalline and amorphous structure.     

Microstructure and electrochemical properties of LaNi4–xFeMnx (x=0–0.8) hydrogen storage alloys

In order to reduce the cost of LaNi5 based hydrogen storage alloys, effect of substitution of Mn for Ni on structural and electro-chemical properties of LaNi4-xFeMnx(x=0-0.8) hydrogen storage alloys was studied systematically. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that LaNi5 and La2Ni7 phases were invariably present in all alloy samples, and when x≥0.4, (Fe,Ni) phase was observed. Electrochemical studies revealed that the discharge capacity reached a maximum value of 306.4 mAh/g when x=0.2 and the cycling stability decreased with the increase of x.With the increase of Mn content, hydrogen diffusion coefficient decreased, whereas high rate discharge-ability (HRD) and exchange current density first increased slowly when x≤0.2 and then decreased markedly when x=0.8,indicating that electrochemical reaction on the surface of alloy electrodes had strong influence on kinetic property.     

Effect of cobalt content on electrochemical performance of La-Mg-Ni system （Ce2Ni7-type） electrode alloys

In order to improve the cyclic stability of La-Mg-Ni system （Ce2Ni7-type） alloy electrode, small amount of Co was added in La0.75Mg0.25Ni3.5 alloy. The effect of Co on electrochemical performance and microstructure of the alloys were investigated in detail. XRD results showed that the alloys had multiphase structure composed of （La, Mg）2Ni7, LaNi5 and small amount of LaNi2 phases. The discharge capacity of the alloys first increased and then decreased with increasing Co content. At a discharge current density of 900 mA/g, the HRD of the alloy electrodes increased from 81.3% （x=0） to 89.2 % （x=0.2）, and then reduced to 87.8 % （x=0.6）. After 60 charge/discharge cycles, the capacity retention rate of the alloys enhanced from 52.67% to 61.32%, and the capacity decay rate of the alloys decreased from 2.60 to 2.05 mAh/g per cycle with increasing Co content. The obtained results by XPS and XRD showed that the fundamental reasons for the capacity decay of the La-Mg-Ni system （Ce2Ni7-type） alloy electrodes were corrosion and oxidation as well as passivation of Mg and Lain alkaline solution.     

Hydriding/dehydriding properties of NdMgNi alloy with catalyst CeO2

Hydrogen storage composites Nd2Mg17-50 wt.%Ni-x wt.%CeO2（x=0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0） were obtained by induction-ball milling method. The catalytic effect of CeO₂ on hydriding kinetics of Nd₂Mg17-50 wt.%Ni composite was investigated. X-ray diffraction（XRD） and high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）, selected area electron diffraction（SAED） analyses showed that Nd₂Mg17-50 wt.%Ni alloy had a multiphase structure, consisting of NdMg12, NdMg₂Ni, Mg₂Ni and Ni phases and the addition of catalyst CeO₂ prompted the composites to be partly transformed into amorphous strucutre. The CeO₂ improved the maximum hydrogen capacity of Nd₂Mg17-50 wt.%Ni alloy from 3.192 wt.% to 3.376 wt.%（x=1.0）. What’s more, the increment of diffusion coefficient D led to the faster hydriding kinetics, which was calculated by Avrami-Erofeev equation. The dehydrogenation temperature reduced from 515.54 to 504.72 K was mainly caused by the decrease of activation energy from 93.28 to 69.36 kJ /mol, which was proved by the Kissinger equation.     

Phase structure and Cycle Stabilities of Mg2Ni/Mm0.3Ml0.7Ni3.55Co0.75Mn0.4Al0.3 Composite Hydrogen Storage Alloys Prepared by Two-step re-melting

Mm0.3Ml0.7Ni3.55Co0.75Mn0.4-Al0.3 alloy has high chemical activity and favorable plateaus pressure. Mg2Ni is in favor of high hydrogen storage capacity and low weight, but it is difficult to be activated. In order to improve the capacity and cycle performances of hydrogen-storage alloy electrodes, Mm0.3Ml0.7Ni3.55Co0.75Mn0.4-Al0.3-x%Mg2Ni (x=0,5,10,30) composite hydrogen storage alloys prepared by two-step re-melting were investigated in this work. The influences of Mg2Ni content on the cycle stabilities were analyzed by electrochemical methods. It was observed by XRD that the main phase of all the alloys is LaNi5 and the crystal lattice parameters of LaNi5 are changed with the increasing of x value, i. e, α-axis and unit cell volume decrease and c-axis decreases nonlinearly. The c-axis of alloy with x=5 is larger than the others. With the increasing of x value, capacity retentions of the composite hydrogen storage alloys rise from 66.21% while x=0 to 82.04% while x=10, but the capacity retention of the composite alloy with 30% Mg2Ni declines because of its decreasing axial ratio. More over, the composite alloy with 5% Mg2Ni shows the best cycle stability and higher discharge capacity, and it is an appropriate candidate for battery materials.     

Effect of the partial substitution of samarium for lanthanum on the structure and electrochemical properties of La_(15)Fe_(77)B_8-type hydrogen storage alloys

La15Fe77B8 hydrogen storage alloys were prepared using a vacuum induction-quenching furnace. The results of X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) suggested that La15–xSmxFe2Ni76Mn5B2(x=0, 2, 4, 6) alloys had multiphase structure including the main LaNi5 phase, La3Ni13B2 phase and(Fe, Ni) phase. With the increasing substitution of Sm for La, the main phase structure of alloys did not change, while the unit cell volumes decreased, the cycle stability was improved and the maximum discharge capacity decreased, but the low temperature maximum discharge capacity of the same substitution alloy was gradually approaching the maximum discharge capacity at room temperature, which showed that La15Fe77B8 hydrogen storage alloys of the partial substitution of Sm for La had better low-temperature dischargeability(LTD). For the same substitution alloys, self-discharge characteristics and cycle stability at low temperature were better than that at room temperature. Furthermore, the high-rate dischargeability(HRD) and the exchange current density I0 first increased and then decreased with the increasing of Sm content, whereas the hydrogen diffusion coefficient D in alloy bulk decreased gradually, which indicated that appropriate substitution of Sm for La improved the electrochemical kinetics properties of the alloys. The HRD was mainly dominated by the charge-transfer rate on the alloy surface.     

Effect of AB2-based alloy addition on structure and electrochemical properties of La0.5Pr0.2Zr0.1Mg0.2Ni2.75Co0.45Fe0.1Al0.2 hydrogen storage alloy

The La 0.5Pr0.2Zr0.1Mg0.2Ni2.75Co0.45Fe0.1Al0.2(M1) and Zr0.65Ti0.35(Mn0.2V0.2Cr0.15Ni0.45) 1.76(M2) hydrogen storage alloys were prepared by inductive melting.In addition,the M1+30 wt.%M2 composites were successively prepared by using high-energy ball milling technology.From the X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis,it was found that M1 and M2 alloys still retained their respective main phases in the M1+30 wt.%M2 composites.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) indicated that the decrease in discharge capacity of M1 and M2 alloy electrodes was ascribed to the oxidation-dissolution of La,Pr,Mg and Ti,Mn,V,Cr active elements,respectively.The electrochemical studies showed that the M1+30 wt.%M 2 composite electrode ball milling for 5 min exhibited excellence cyclic stability(92.3%) after 80 charge/discharge cycles,which was higher than 77.7 % and 85.6% of M1 and M2 alloy electrodes,respectively.Moreover,at the discharge current density of 1200 mA/g,the high rate discharge ability(HRD) of the M1+30 wt.%M2 composite electrode increased from 61.5%(5 min) to 70.3%(10 min).According to the linear polarization,Tafel polarization and cyclic voltammograms(CV),the electrochemical kinetics of hydrogen reaction on the surface of the electrode and hydrogen diffusion rate in the bulk of alloy were also improved in the M1+30 wt.%M2 composite with increasing ball milling time.     

Improved electrochemical kinetic performances of La-Mg-Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys with lanthanum partially substituted by yttrium

Yttrium(Y) has been used as the partial substitution element for lanthanum(La) to improve the electrochemical kinetic performances of La-Mg-Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys. La0.80–xYxMg0.20Ni2.85Mn0.10Co0.55Al0.10(x=0.00, 0.05 and 0.10) alloys were prepared by the inductive melting technique. The alloys were composed of La Ni5 and(La,Mg)2Ni7 phases, the introduction of Y promoted the formation of(La,Mg)2Ni7 phase, and thus the Y-substituted alloy electrodes exhibited higher discharge capacities. Y substitution was also found to be effective to improve the discharge kinetics of the alloy electrodes. When the Y content x increased from 0.00 to 0.10, the high-rate dischargeability of the alloy electrodes at a discharge current density of 1800 m A/g(HRD1800) increased from 23.6% to 39.7% at room temperature. In addition, the measured HRD1800 showed a linear dependence on both the exchange current density and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient at different temperatures, respectively.     

Electrochemical performance of La_(2–x)Sm_xMg_(16)Ni+200 wt.% Ni(x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) alloys

Nanocrystalline and amorphous La_(2–x)Sm_xMg_(16)Ni+200wt.% Ni(x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) alloys were prepared by mechanical milling technology. The structures of as-cast and milled alloys were investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Electrochemical performance of the alloy was studied by using an automatic galvanostatic system. The electrochemical impedance spectra(EIS) and Tafel polarization curves were measured by electrochemical workstation. The results indicated that the structures of the as-cast and milled alloys presented a multiphase structure with nanocrystalline and amorphous phase, moreover, transforming from nanocrystalline to amorphous phase with Sm doping. With the increase of Sm content, the maximum discharge capacity of the alloy was decreased from 922.6 to 649.1 m Ah/g, the high-rate discharge ability(HRD) was decreased, the cycle stability was strengthened, and the alloy exhibited excellent electrochemical kinetics. In addition, the charge-transfer resistance(R_(ct)) of alloy was lessened from 0.05874 to 0.02953 ? and the limiting current density(I_L) was descended from 2.08366 to 1.04592 A/g with increasing Sm content.     

Effect of CoO Addition on Electrochemical Properties of La0.7Mg0.3 （Ni0. 85 Co0. 15 ） 3.5 Hydrogen- Storage Alloy

In order to improve the cycling stability of La-Mg-Ni-Co hydrogen storage alloys, the La0.7Mg0.3 （Ni0.85Co0.15）3.5 alloy was prepared by inductive melting under argon atmosphere. The effect of additive CoO on electrochemical properties of La0.7Mg0.3（Ni0.85 Co0.15）3.5 alloy, which is used as an electrode material was studied. When the addition of CoO is 5 %, both the discharge capacity at high-, low- and room-tem- perature and charge-discharge cycling stability at room temperature can be significantly improved. Electro- chemical measurements and X-ray diffraction （XRD） analyses suggest that CoO improves the electrochemical properties of the La0.7Mg0.3（Ni0.85Co0.15）3.5 alloy by promoting the electrochemical reaction of another phase in the alloy and by self electrochemical reversible reaction occurring during the charge-discharge process.     

Hydriding/dehydriding behaviors of La2Mg17-10 wt.%Ni composite prepared by mechanical milling

The structure and hydriding/dehydriding behaviors of La2Mg17-10 wt.%Ni composite prepared by mechanical milling were investigated. Compared with the un-milled sample, the as-milled alloys were ready to be activated and the kinetics of hydrogen absorption was relatively fast even at environmental temperature. The composite milled for 10 h absorbed 3.16 wt.% hydrogen within 100 s at 290 K. The kinetic mechanisms of hydriding/dehydriding reactions were analyzed by using a new model. The results showed that hydrogenation processes for all composites were controlled by hydrogen diffusion and the minimum activation energy was 15.3 kJ/mol H2 for the composite milled for 10 h. Mechanical milling changed the dehydriding reaction rate-controlling step from surface penetration to diffusion and reduced the activation energy from 204.6 to 87.4 kJ/mol H2. The optimum milled duration was 5 h for desorption in our trials.