Design of Bifunctional Nb/V Interfaces for Improving Reversible Hydrogen Storage Performance of MgH<sub>2</sub>
Yang Meng, Shunlong Ju, Wei Chen, Xiaowei Chen, Guanglin Xia, Dalin Sun, Xuebin Yu
Abstract
While MgH 2 has been widely regarded as a promising solid‐state hydrogen storage material, the high operating temperature and sluggish kinetics pose a major bottleneck for its practical application. Herein, V 4 Nb 18 O 55 microspheres composed of nanoparticles with size of tens of nanometers are fabricated to promote H 2 desorption and absorption properties of MgH 2 , which results in the uniform formation of Nb/V interfaces based on a molecular scale during the reversible hydrogen storage process. It is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated that the uniform building of Nb/V interfaces not only preserves the ability of Nb in weakening Mg‐H bonds but also alleviates the strong adsorption capacity of metallic Nb toward hydrogen atoms, leading to a relative energy barrier for the whole dehydrogenation process of MgH 2 of only 0.5 eV, which is 0.22 and 0.43 eV lower than that of Nb and V, respectively. As a result, under the addition of V 4 Nb 18 O 55 microspheres, the onset H 2 desorption temperature of MgH 2 is decreased to 165 °C, 125 °C lower than that of bulk MgH 2 , and the complete hydrogenation of Mg could be realized even at room temperature, while almost no H 2 adsorption is observed for bulk Mg at a high temperature of 50 °C.