Hydrogen Storage

Discovery and Synthesis of Hydrogen Storage Materials

As a partner in the Metal Hydride Center of Excellence, funded by the US Department of Energy, led by Sandia National Lab, we developed new solid hydrogen storage materials including lithium magnesium nitride (LiMgN) and Mg-based non-equilibrium materials that have potential practical applications.

Over the past few years, funded by the National Science Foundation, a comprehensive research program has explored a new class of materials - light metal solid solution alloys (LMSSA) - for hydrogen storage. Extensive and systematic experimental studies with theoretical support will now be carried out to investigate the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of a series of LMSSA, including Li-Al, Mg-Al, Li-Mg, Li-Mg-Al and Mg-Si, in the context of hydrogen storage. Among them, the Li-Mg system is a thermodynamically stable solid solution, while others are metastable, but can be prepared by using non-equilibrium processes such as rapid solidification and mechanical alloying. LMSSA opens a new frontier in hydrogen storage materials research. The objectives of the research program are:

• Understand the fundamental thermodynamics of light metal solid solution alloys and their reactions with hydrogen.
• Establish a new approach for developing hydrogen storage materials based on light metal solid solution alloys.
• Establish a database of hydrogen storage properties of light metal solid solutions alloys.