Electrochemical studies of hydrogen storage in amorphous Ni[sub 64]Zr[sub 36] alloy

Journal Article · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2056124· OSTI ID:6445587

Ciureanu, M; Ryan, D H; Stroem-Olsen, J O ^[1]; Trudeau, M L ^[2]

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1. McGill Univ., Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
2. Hydro Quebec Research Inst., Varennes (Canada)

The capacity of amorphous Ni-Zr alloys to absorb large amounts of hydrogen has been investigated recently in connection with their possible use for hydrogen storage. This property also makes them possible candidates as anodes in metal hydride-nickel hydroxide rechargeable batteries. The characteristic features of the electrochemical behavior of the amorphous Ni[sub 64]Zr[sub 36] alloy in alkaline media have been investigated. Changes occurring in both the physical state and the composition of the surface layer during chemical etching and electrochemical activation were studied by scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry. The kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the alloy under investigation was studied in terms of the cathodic polarization curves. The Tafel plots contain two different ranges: (i) a low-overpotential range, in which the slope of the linear [eta] versus log i is characteristic for charge transfer controlled processes; (ii) a high-overvoltage range, in which a combined mechanism, charge transfer and hydrogen diffusion into the bulk, is operative. To get information about the parameters influencing the hydrogen charging and discharging processes, chronopotentiometric experiments were performed. The changes of anodic overvoltage with time during constant current discharge were used to determine the electrochemical parameters i[sub 0] and [beta], as well as the diffusion coefficients (D) of the H atoms in the bulk of the alloy.

• OSTI ID: 6445587
• Journal Information: Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States), Vol. 140:3; ISSN 0013-4651
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
25 ENERGY STORAGE
HYDROGEN STORAGE
NICKEL HYDRIDES
ZIRCONIUM HYDRIDES
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS
ANODES
AUGER ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
CHARGE TRANSPORT
CHEMICAL ACTIVATION
DIFFUSION
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ETCHING
INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
KINETICS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
VOLTAMETRY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
ALLOYS
CHEMISTRY
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRODES
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MICROSCOPY
NICKEL ALLOYS
NICKEL COMPOUNDS
SCATTERING
SPECTROSCOPY
STORAGE
SURFACE FINISHING
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
ZIRCONIUM COMPOUNDS
080201* - Hydrogen- Chemisorption Storage
400400 - Electrochemistry
250903 - Energy Storage- Batteries- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries