Nano-structured MgH₂ catalyzed by TiC nanoparticles for hydrogen storage

Background: Magnesium hydride is considered to be a promising hydrogen storage material because of its high gravimetric and volumetric storage capacities. However, its slow kinetics and high desorption temperature of > 300 °C limit practical applications. In this work, TiC nanoparticles were selected to modify the hydrogen storage properties of MgH₂. Composite mixtures (MgH₂ + TiC) were prepared using both cryogenic milling and high-energy ball milling. RESULTS: The resulting morphology and crystallite structure of the composites were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The milled samples show good mixing of the hydride and carbide particles, with MgH₂ particles around 0.09-1 μm and TiC particles 10-20 nm. The (MgH₂ + TiC) composites consist of γ-MgH₂, β-MgH₂ and TiC. MgH₂ nano-crystallites of 25 nm were formed after cryomilling. Thermogravimetry reveals that the composites release ~6.5 mass % hydrogen from 190-400 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C min^-1 under He flow, with the onset and peak temperatures at 190 and 280 °C, respectively, for the (MgH₂ + TiC) after 8 h cryomilling and 60 h ball milling. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that TiC is an effective catalyst for hydrogen desorption of MgH₂.