MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOSTRUCTURED COMPOUNDS ON HYDRIDE SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

In this work, nanosized dopants added to hydride materials such as MgH2 (magnesium hydride) and 2LiBH4+MgH2 stoichiometric mixture (lithium borohydride plus magnesium hydride) are characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The aim is to understand the role of the
additives on sorption kinetics of the investigated hydride systems. Additives such as Ti and FeTi improve noticeably the reactivity of MgH2. This effect is mainly attributed to the nanosized nature of the intermetallic FeTi and Ti, with Pm3m and Im3m space groups (s.g.) respectively. Moreover, in comparison with Ti, the intermetallic FeTi achieves a better dispersion, smaller nanoparticle sizes and largely homogenous distribution throughout the MgH2 matrix, which might be ascribed to a synergetic effect of Fe and Ti.