The effect of alkaline earth metals (Magnesium and Calcium) on Hydrogen storage efficiency of alanate nanopowders

Different Aluminum: alkaline earth metal atomic weight ratios effects on structure transformations in alanates nanopowders were studied. Changes in crystal structures from alane to alanates by increasing alkaline earth metals dopants in the mixture with slight changes in crystal structures from rhombohedral centered - trigonal (alane) to trigonal (magnesium alanate), and monoclinic (calcium alanate), while thermal behavior alters from one step dissociation at similar to 150 degrees C with similar to 8.1 wt% hydrogen release in alane to the two steps hydrogen releases in magnesium alanate at 130 and 285 degrees C with 7 and 2.1 wt% changes, and to the three steps hydrogen releases in calcium alanate at 127, 260, and 328 degrees C with 1.7, 2.1, and 4 wt% changes were indicated. Residual phases after dissociation are formed in aluminum and magnesium alloying systems and intermetallic phases like Mg2Al3 and Mg17Al12 with no sign of oxide formation and pure aluminum, Al4Ca, Al2Ca intermetallic phases and Ca in aluminum: Calcium system.