Electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 nanopowders synthesized by sol-gel method

Solid-state hydrogen storage technology currently suffers from issues such as inadequate storage capacity, and instability, leading to low performances. Here we show a record of above 2000 mAh.g(-1) (similar to 7.8 wt% H) of discharge capacity of a binary metal oxides Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 nanopowders. The yellowish Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 nanopowders have been synthesized via a sol-gel method under thermal treatment of the molecular precursors of the, (NH4)(2)Ce(NO3)(6) and C16H40O4Zr. The crystal structure and morphology evolution can be described by the cubic and highly pure structure and homogeneous nanoscales formation of Ce0.75Zr0.25O2, ranging from 35 to 60 nm. The formation of the Ce(0.75)Zr(0.25)O(2 )nanoparticles distinctly matches with the spectroscopy results. The activation energy (E-a) was calculated from the output of a reduction thermal programming profile at about 177 kJ mol(-1) using Kissinger equation. Our work will promote the development of low-cost solid-state semiconductors based on transition metals, as a host for hydrogen sorption. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.