Papers by Author: Dong Liang Zhao

Abstract: In order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure in the Mg2Ni-type alloy, the melt spinning technology has been used to prepare the Mg20Ni8M2 (M = Co, Cu) hydrogen storage alloys. The microstructures of the alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The effects of the melt spinning on the gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the alloys were investigated. The results indicate that the as-spun (M = Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure as spinning rate grows to 20 m/s, while the as-spun (M = Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure even if a limited spinning rate is applied, suggesting that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning remarkably ameliorates the gaseous hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloys. As the spinning rate is raised from 0 (As-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s, the hydrogen absorption saturation ratio ( ), a ratio of the hydrogen absorption capacity in 5 min to the saturated hydrogen absorption capacity, are enhanced from 80.43% to 94.38% for the (M = Co) alloy and from 56.72% to 92.74% for the (M = Cu) alloy. The hydrogen desorption ratio ( ), a ratio of the hydrogen desorption capacity in 20 min to the saturated hydrogen absorption capacity of the alloy, are increased from 24.52% to 51.67% for the (M = Co) alloy and from14.89% to 40.37% for the (M = Cu) alloy. Furthermore, the high rate discharge ability (HRD) and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) of the alloys notably mount up with the growing of the spinning rate.

Abstract: The Mg2Ni-type alloys with a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure have been confirmed possessing superior electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics. The melt-spinning technique is used to preparing the nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type alloys with the nominal compositions of Mg20Ni10-xMnx (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The impacts of the melt spinning and the replacement of Ni by Mn on the structures and the electrochemical performances of the alloys are investigated systematically. The analysis of the structures by XRD and HRTEM reveals that the replacement of Ni by Mn facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy, and the amorphization degree of the as-spun alloys increases with the growing of the spinning rate. Furthermore, the replacement renders the formation of secondary phases MnNi and Mg instead of altering the Mg2Ni major phase in the alloys. The measurement of the electrochemical characteristics by an automatic galvanostatic system indicates that the discharge capacity and cycle stability of the alloys dramatically grow with the rising of the spinning rate and the amount of Mn replacement, with which the high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys first augments and then falls.

Abstract: The melt-spinning technique was used to synthesize the Mg₂₀Ni₆M₄ (M=Co, Cu) alloys with nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD and TEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the alloys were measured. The results show that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg₂Ni-type alloy. The discharge capacity and high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys notably augment with the rising of the spinning rate. The action of the melt spinning on the cycle stability of the alloys is associated with the substitution element. For the (M=Co) alloy, the melt spinning exerts a dramatically positive impact, whereas for the (M=Cu) alloy, its impact is negative.

Abstract: The Ni was partially substituted by M (M=Co, Cu) in order to ameliorate the hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning technology was used to prepare the Mg20Ni10-xMx (M=Mn, Cu; x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4) alloys. The structures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD and TEM. The hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloys were measured by an automatically controlled Sieverts apparatus. The results show that the as-spun (M=Mn) alloys hold a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, whereas the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys display an entire nanocrystalline structure, indicating that the substitution of Mn for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. Additionally, Mn substitution incurs the formation of secondary phases MnNi and Mg instead of changing the Mg2Ni major phase. The hydriding kinetics of the as-spun alloys first mounts up and then declines with the rising of M (M= Mn, Cu) content, whereas the substitution of M (M=Mn, Cu) for Ni enhances the dehydriding kinetics of the alloy dramatically.

Abstract: The melt-spinning technique is used to fabricate the Mg20Ni9M1 (M=Cu, Co) alloys with nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD and TEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the alloys were measured. The results show that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure and small amount of amorphous phase is visible on the grain boundaries of the as-spun (M=Co) alloy. The discharge capacity and high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys visibly grow with the rising of the spinning rate. The action of the melt spinning on the cycle stability of the alloys is associated with substitution element. For M=Cu, the capacity retaining rate (SN) evidently falls with the growing of the spinning rate; whereas for M=Co, it first declines and then augments.

Abstract: In order to ameriolate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of La–Mg–Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, the partial substitution of Zr for La has been performed. The La_0.75−xZrxMg_0.25Ni_3.2Co_0.2Al_0.1 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2) electrode alloys were prepared by melt spinning. The influences of substithting La with Zr on the structures and the electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys were investigated. The structure characterized by XRD and TEM displays that the as-spun alloys have a multiphase structure, composing of two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The as-spun Zr-free alloy displays an entire nanocrystalline structure, while an like amorphous structure is detected in the as-spun alloy substituted by Zr, implying that the substitution of Zr for La facilitates the amorphous formation. The substitution of Zr for La markedly enhances the electrochemical cycle stability of the alloys, whereas the impact generated by such substitution on the high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys is different with the variation of the spinning rate. The HRD of the as-spun (5 m/s) alloys yields the largest value with the change of Zr content, but that of the as-spun (20 m/s) alloys always declines with the growing amount of Zr substitution.

Abstract: The poor electrochemical cycle stability of Re-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys has limited their practical application as the negative electrode materials of Ni-MH battery. In order to improve the electrochemical cycle stability of the La-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, the partial substitution of Zr for La has been performed. The La0.75-xZrxMg0.25Ni3.2Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0–0.2) electrode alloys were fabricated by casting and melt-spinning. The microstructures and the electrochemical cycle stability and kinetics of the alloys were investigated. The structure characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM reveals that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, composing of two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The as-spun Zr-free alloy displays an entire nanocrystalline structure, but a like amorphous structure is detected in the as-spun alloy substituted by Zr, suggesting that the substitution of Zr for La facilitates the formation of an amorphous structure. The electrochemical measurement indicates that both the substitution of Zr for La and the melt spinning remarkably ameliorate electrochemical cycle stability of the alloys. Furthermore, the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) and the potential-step measurements all indicate that both of the melt spinning and the Zr substitution bring on a notable decline of the electrochemical kinetics of the alloys.

Abstract: The RE–Mg–Ni-based A2B7-type La0.75−xPrxMg0.25Ni3.2 Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) electrode alloys were fabricated by casting and melt spinning. The microstructures and electrochemical characteristics of the as-cast and spun alloys were investigated in detail. The results indicate that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, consisting of two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The substitution of Pr for La results in a notable grain refinement of the as-cast alloys without altering the phase structure of the alloys. The discharge capacity of the alloys first rises and then falls with the variation of the Pr content. As Pr content grows from 0 to 0.4, the discharge capacity increases from 389.4 (x = 0) to 392.4 (x = 0.1) and then drops to 383.7 mAh/g (x = 0.4) for the as-cast alloy. And it mounts up from 393.5 (x = 0) to 397.9 (x = 0.1) and then declines to 382.5 mAh/g for the as spun (5 m/s) alloys. Furthermore, the measurements of the electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics reveal that the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the limiting current density (IL) and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) of the alloys first increases then decreases with the rising amount of Pr substitution.

Abstract: The melt-spinning technique is applied to the preparation of the nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type alloys with nominal compositions of Mg₂₀Ni_10-xMn_x (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The microstructures of the as-cast and spun alloys were characterized by XRD and HRTEM. The electrochemical performances of the as-spun alloys are measured by an automatic galvanostatic system. The results show that the as-spun Mg₂₀Ni₁₀ alloy displays an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun Mg20Ni6Mn4 alloy exhibits a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Mn for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg₂Ni-type alloy. And the amorphization degree of the as-spun alloys substituted by Mn increases with the growing of the spinning rate. The substitution of Mn for Ni and the melt spinning ameliorate electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys substantially. The electrochemical discharge capacity and cycle stability of the alloys are considerably enhanced by increasing the amount of Mn substitution and the spinning rate. The high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys first augments and then falls with the growing of the Mn content and the spinning rate.

Abstract: The RE-Mg-Ni-based A2B7-type La0.75−xPrxMg0.25Ni3.2Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) electrode alloys were synthesized by melt spinning technology. The impacts of the melt spinning and the substitution of Pr for La on the microstructures and electrochemical characteristics of the alloys were investigated in detail. The results reveal that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, containing two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The melt spinning results in a notable grain refinement of the alloys without altering the phase structure of the alloys. The discharge capacity of the (x=0.1) alloy first mounts up and then falls with rising the spinning rate. And the as-spun (10 m/s) alloy yields the maximum discharge capacity with the variation of Pr content. Furthermore, the measurements of the electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics reveal that the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) and the limiting current density (IL) of the alloys first increases then decreases with rising the spinning rate and the amount of Pr substitution.