La-Mg-Ni Intermetallics for Hydrogen Storage and Electrochemical Power Sources

The paper summarizes the results of the studies of La-Mg-Ni based intermetallic compounds for reversible hydrogen sorption and electrochemical applications. The phase composition, hydrogen sorption and electrochemical characteristics of AB(5)-, AB(3)- and AB(2)-types intermetallic compounds are considered. A comparative evaluation of the materials is carried out. It has been shown that the maximum capacity of electrodes with AB(3)-type intermetallic compounds reaches 400 mA h/g, which is 25% higher than the capacity of electrodes based on AB(5)-type (315 mA h/g) and 7.5% higher than the capacity of electrodes with AB(2)-type intermetallic compound (370 mA h/g). AB(2)-type intermetallic compounds demonstrate good performance at high discharge current densities, and the presence of lanthanum promotes rapid activation of the electrodes.