Core-Shell, Critical-Temperature-Suppressed V Alloy-Pd Alloy Hydrides for Hydrogen Storage—A Technical Evaluation

Abstract

Hydrogen storage for energy applications is of significant interest to researchers seeking to enable a transition to lower-pollution energy systems. Two of the key drawbacks of using hydrogen for energy storage are the low gas-phase storage density and the high energy cost of the gas-phase compression. Metal hydride materials have the potential to increase hydrogen storage density and decrease the energy cost of compression by storing the hydrogen as a solid solution. In this article, the technical viability of core-shell V90Al10-Pd80Ag20 as a hydrogen storage material is discussed. LaNi5, LaNi5/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer mixtures, core-shell V-Pd, and core-shell V90Al10-Pd80Ag20 are directly compared in terms of reversible hydrogen-storage content by weight and volume. The kinetic information for each of the materials is also compared; however, this work highlights missing information that would enable computational dynamics modelling. Results of this technical evaluation show that V90Al10-Pd80Ag20 has the potential to increase gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen capacity by 1.4 times compared to LaNi5/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer mixtures. In addition, the literature shows that Pd80Ag20 and V90Al10 both have similarly good hydrogen permeabilities, thermal conductivities, and specific heats. In summary, this evaluation demonstrates that core-shell V90Al10-Pd80Ag20 could be an excellent, less-expensive hydrogen storage material with the advantages of improved storage capacity, handleability, and safety compared to current AB5-polymer mixtures.