Hydrogen storage properties for Mg–Zn–Y quasicrystal and ternary alloys

Highlights: • Quasicrystal (QC) and H-phase alloys were detected in the Zn–Mg–Y samples. • Hydrogen storage properties of Zn–Mg–Y samples were investigated. • Zn₅₀Mg₄₂Y₈ showed a capacity of 0.9 wt.% and decomposition temperature of 445 °C. - Abstract: Three Zn–Mg–Y alloys with nominal compositions of Zn₅₀Mg₄₂Y₈ and Zn₆₀Mg₃₀Y₁₀ were prepared by induction melting or gas atomisation. XRD and SEM analysis shows samples ZMY-1 and ZMY-2 consisted of multiple phases including icosahedral quasicrystal (QC) i-phase, hexagonal H-phase and Mg₇Zn₃, whilst ZMY-3 contained QC only. The hydrogen storage properties of the Zn–Mg–Y quasicrystal and ternary alloys were investigated for the first time. The quasicrystal sample ZMY-3 hydrogenated at 300 °C had 0.3 wt.% capacity and the DSC decomposition peak temperature was 503 °C. Amongst the three samples, the highest hydrogen storage capacity (0.9 wt.%) and the lowest decomposition peak temperature (445 °C) was achieved by sample ZMY-1. The pressure–composition–isotherm (PCI) curve of ZMY-1 sample showed a flat plateau gave a plateau pressure of 3.5 bar at 300 °C, which indicates a lower dehydrogenation enthalpy than MgH₂