Structural and hydrogen isotope storage properties of Zr–Co–Fe alloy

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.02.094
• Publication Date: 2015-03-14T00:48:18Z
• Authors: Ram Avtar Jat; Ripandeep Singh; S.C. Parida; A. Das; Renu Agarwal; S.K. Mukerjee; K.L. Ramakumar
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0204 chemical engineering

Abstract In the present study, the effect of Fe substitution for Co on the hydrogen isotope storage properties of ZrCo alloy has been investigated to ascertain the improvement in durability of ZrCo alloy against hydrogen induced disproportionation. The ZrCo 0.9 Fe 0.1 alloy was synthesized by arc melting and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, SEM and EDS. Hydrogen isotope storage behavior of this alloy was probed by generating the hydrogen/deuterium desorption pressure–composition isotherms (PCIs) for ZrCo 0.9 Fe 0.1 –H 2 /D 2 systems. Thermodynamic parameters like enthalpy and entropy change for desorption of hydrogen/deuterium in the ZrCo 0.9 Fe 0.1 –H 2 /D 2 systems were derived from the van't Hoff plots. This study reveals the normal hydrogen isotope effect for this alloy, depicting the higher equilibrium pressure of D 2 than that of H 2 at all experimental temperatures. In addition, the cyclic life studies were also performed on ZrCo 0.9 Fe 0.1 alloy at 583 K up to 50 cycles of hydrogen/deuterium absorption–desorption. Neutron diffraction studies were also carried out on ZrCo 0.9 Fe 0.1 deuteride to determine its crystal structure and interstitial sites occupied by deuterium atoms. The experimental results show that Fe substitution increases the durability against hydrogen induced disproportionation as compared to pure ZrCo alloy, which makes it favorable for storage of hydrogen isotopes.