Rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy and application thereof

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 10566614
  • Patent Number
    10,566,614
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, August 27, 2015
    9 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 18, 2020
    4 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
    • Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths
    • National Engineering Research Centre of Rare Earth Metallurgy and Function Materials
    • Tianjin Baogang Research Institute of Rare Earths Co., Ltd.
  • Examiners
    • Nassiri-Motlagh; Anita
    Agents
    • Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd.
Abstract
The invention relates to a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy, represented by the general formula (I): RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB  (I) wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W. The alloy has favorable pressure-composition-temperature characteristic, high hydrogen storage capacity, high electrochemical capacity. The alloy doesn't contain magnesium element, and the preparation process of the alloy is easy and safe.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/CN2015/088274, filed on Aug. 27, 2015, which claims priority from Chinese Application Nos. 201410427179.9, 201410427199.6, 201410427220.2, 201410427259.4, 201410427281.9, 201410429187.7, and 201410429202.8, all filed on Aug. 28, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties for all purposes.


TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention belongs to the field of hydrogen storage alloy, and relates to a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy and the application thereof.


BACKGROUND

Hydrogen storage alloy is a functional material with high hydrogen-storage density. At present, hydrogen storage alloy could be roughly divided into six categories: rare earth based AB5 type, such as LaNi5; magnesium based, such as Mg2Ni, MgNi, La2Mg17; rare earth-magnesium-nickel based AB3-4 type, such as La2MgNi9, La5Mg2Ni23, La3MgNi14; titanium based AB type, such as TiNi, TiFe; zirconium or titanium based AB2 type with Laves phase, such as ZrNi2; vanadium based solid solution type as (V0.9Ti0.1)1-xFex.


The hydrogen-storage material widely used nowadays is LaNi5 type hydrogen-storage alloy. The alloy is mainly used as a negative material of a metal hydride-nickel(MH-Ni) secondary battery, with a theoretical electrochemical capacity of about 373 mAh·g−1. The commercial negative material electrode materials in actual application is Mm(NiCoMnAl)5 (wherein Mm denotes mixed rare earths), which has a maximum capacity of 350 mAh·g−1. In order to develop hydrogen-storage alloys with better electrochemical properties or higher hydrogen storage capacity, the research of magnesium based alloy has become a hotspot. Magnesium based alloys have high theoretical capacity. Especially, great progresses have been made in the study of rare earth-magnesium-nickel based AB3 type, A2B7 type and A5B19 type alloys and these alloys has been put into industrial application. Titanium, zirconium and vanadium based hydrogen storage materials were not widely used due to their disadvantages such as poor activation characteristic, high cost, etc.


CN201310228766.0 discloses an A2B7 type hydrogen storage alloy for nickel-hydride battery and preparation method thereof. The composition of the alloy conforms to the general formula LnaMgbNixYyZz, wherein Ln denotes one or more rare earth element(s), Y denotes one or more element(s) selected from Al, Co, Nb, V, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Ga, Mo, Sn, In, W, Si and P, and Z denotes one or more element(s) selected from Ag, Sr, Ge, 0.5≤a<2, 0<b<1, 5<X+Y+Z<9, 0<Y<3, 0<Z<1.


CN101210294A discloses a A5B19 type alloy. The alloy has a formula of X5-aYaZb, wherein X denotes one or more of rear earth metals, Y denotes one or more of alkaline earth metal(s), Z denotes one or more element(s) selected from Mn, Al, V, Fe, Si, Sn, Ni, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Zn and B, 0<a≤2, 17.5≤b≤22.5.


CN102195041A discloses a hydrogen storage alloy for an alkaline storage battery. The alloy has a formula of LaxReyMg1-x-yNin-m-vAlmTv, wherein Re denotes at least one rare earth element(s) including Y(ytterbium)(except La), T denotes at least one element(s) selected from Co, Mn and Zn; 0.17≤x≤0.64, 3.5≤n≤3.8, 0.06≤m≤0.22, v≥0. The main phase of the alloy is A5B19 type crystal structure.


CN101238231A discloses a hydrogen storage alloy. The alloy contains a phase of Pr5Co19 type crystal structure, which conforms to the general formula A(4−w)B(1+w)C19, wherein A denotes one or more element(s) selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium); B denotes Mg element; C denotes one or more element(s) selected from Ni, Co, Mn, and Al; and w denotes a numeral in a range from −0.1 to 0.8; and the alloy have a composition as a whole defined by the general formula R1xR2yR3z, wherein 15.8≤x≤17.8, 3.4≤y≤5.0, 78.8≤z≤79.6, and x+y+z=100; R1 denotes one or more element(s) selected from rare earth elements including Y (yttrium); R2 denotes an Mg element, R3 denotes one or more element(s) selected from Ni, Co, Mn, and Al; z is 0.5 or higher when it denotes the stoichiometric number of Mn+Al; z is 4.1 or lower when it denotes the stoichiometric number of Al.


CN102660700A discloses an AB3 type hydrogen storage alloy and preparation method thereof. The chemical formula of the AB3 type hydrogen storage alloy is La0.35Pr0.30MgxNi2.90Al0.30, wherein x=0.30˜0.35.


CN102195041A discloses a hydrogen storage alloy for an alkaline storage battery, the composition of which conforms to the general formula LaxReyMg1-x-yNin-m-vAlmTv (Re: rare earth elements including Y; T: Co, Mn, Zn; 0.17≤x≤0.64, 3.5≤n≤3.8, 0.06≤m≤0.22, v≥0), and the alloy's main phase has a A5B19-type crystal structure.


CN103326004A discloses an A2B7 hydrogen storage alloy for a nickel metal hydride battery and preparation method thereof. The alloy conforms to the structural general formula: LnaMgbNixYyZz, wherein Ln denotes at least one element selected from rare earth elements; Y denotes least one element selected from Al, Co, Nb, V, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Ga, Mo, Sn, In, W, Si and P; Z denotes at least one element selected from Ag, Sr and Ge; 0.5≤a<2, 0<b<1, 5<X+Y+Z<9, 0<Y<3, 0<Z<1.


The above alloys do not contain Y element, or do not contain Zr element, or do not contain Ti element. However, they all contain alkaline earth metals or magnesium element. Because the vapor pressure of active metal element magnesium is high, the difficulty of manufacturing the alloy is increased, and the composition of the alloy is difficult to control. The escaped micro-fine magnesium powder is flammable and combustible, which is a potential safety hazards.


Researches of “An electrochemical study of new La1-xCexY2Ni9 (0≤x≤1) hydrogen storage alloys” (Electrochimica Acta, 46 (2001): 2385-2393) and “New ternary intermetallic compounds belonging to the R—Y—Ni(R═La, Ce) system as negative material electrodes for Ni-MH batteries” (Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 330-332 (2002): 782-786) report an AB3 type La—Y—Ni hydrogen storage alloy. Nevertheless, the alloy doesn't contain Mn and Al, and its maximum hydrogen storage capacity is only 260 mAh·g−1.


SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to provide a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy with high hydrogen storage capacity. Another object of the invention is to provide a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy with high electrochemical capacity. Another object of the invention is to provide a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy which is easy to prepare, or the composition of which is easy to control, or the preparation process of which is safe.


In order to achieve one or more of the above objects, according to the first aspect of the present application, provided is a rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I):

RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB   (I)


wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W; x>0, y≥0.5, custom characterx+y=3, 13≥z≥7; 6≥a+b>0, 5≥c≥0, 4≥A+B≥0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 12.5≥z≥8.5; 5.5≥a+b>0, 3.5≥c≥0, 2.5≥A+B≥0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes La and/or Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes La.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes mischmetal consisting of La and Ce, preferably the atomic ratio of La and Ce is 0.8:0.2.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal wherein La accounts for about 64 wt %, Ce accounts for about 25 wt %, Pr accounts for about 3 wt % and Nd accounts for about 8 wt %.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 2.5≥A+B>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c=0, A=B=0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 11>z≥9.5, 4.5≥a+b>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 12.5≥z≥11, 5.5≥a+b>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 9.5>z≥8.5; 3.5≥a+b>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), A=B=0, c>0.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 3.5≥a+b≥0; 3.0≥c>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c=0, A=B=0, 11>z≥9.5, 4.5≥a+b>0. In such embodiment, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) may be represented by the general formula (I-1):

RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb  (I-1)


wherein: RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd; x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 11>z≥9.5; 4.5≥a+b>0. When z=10.5, the hydrogen storage alloy is stoichiometric A2B7 type; when z≠10.5, the hydrogen storage alloy is non-stoichiometric A2B7 type.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.5≥x≥0.5, preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5, further preferably 1.2≥x≥0.8.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.5≥a≥0, preferably 2.5≥a≥0.5, further preferably 0.6≥a≥0.4.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 1.0≥b≥0, preferably 1.0≥b≥0.2, or preferably 0.3≥b≥0.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 10.8≥z≥9.5, preferably z=10.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.5≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2, z=10.5.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c=0, A=B=0, 12.5≥z≥11. In such embodiment, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) may be represented by the general formula (I-1):

RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb  (I-1)


wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd; x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 12.5≥z≥11; 5.5≥a+b>0. When z=11.4, the hydrogen storage alloy is stoichiometric A5B19 type; when z≠11.4, the hydrogen storage alloy is non-stoichiometric A5B19 type.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.5≥x≥0.5, preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5, further preferably 1.5≥x≥1.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 3.0≥a≥0, preferably 3.0≥a≥0.5, further preferably 1.0≥a≥0.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 1.5≥b≥0, preferably 1.5≥b≥0.3, further preferably 0.5≥b≥0;


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 12.5≥z≥11, preferably 11.4≥z≥11.0 further preferably z=11.4.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.0≥x≥0.5, 3.0≥a≥0.5, 1.5≥b≥0.3, z=11.4.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c=0, A=B=0, 9.5>z≥8.5; 3.5≥a+b>0. In such embodiment, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) may be represented by the general formula (I-1):

RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb  (I-1)


wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 9.5>z≥8.5, 3.5≥a+b>0. When z=9, the hydrogen storage alloy is stoichiometric AB3 type; when z≠9, the hydrogen storage alloy is non-stoichiometric AB3 type.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.5≥x≥0.5, preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2≥a≥0; preferably 2≥a≥0.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 1.0≥b≥0, preferably 1.0≥b≥0.2.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 9.5≥z≥8.5, preferably z=9.


In another further preferably embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.0≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2, z=9.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), RE denotes La and/or Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), RE denotes La.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), RE denotes Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), RE denotes mischmetal consisting of La and Ce, preferably wherein the atomic ratio of La and Ce is 0.8:0.2.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-1), RE denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounts for about 64 wt %, Ce accounts for about 25 wt %, Pr accounts for about 3 wt % and Nd accounts for about 8 wt %.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), A=B=0, 3.5≥a+b≥0; 3.0≥c>0. In such embodiment, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) may be represented by the general formula (I-2):

RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMc  (I-2)


wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W; x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 12.5≥z≥8.5, 3.5≥a+b>0, 3.0≥c>0.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 2.5≥x≥0.5, preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5, further preferably 1.2≥x≥1.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 2.0≥a≥0.5, preferably 1≥a≥0.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 1.0≥b≥0.3; preferably 0.5≥b≥0.3.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 12.5≥z≥8.5, preferably 11.4≥z≥9, further preferably 11≥z≥10.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 2.5≥c≥0.1, preferably 1≥c≥0.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.0≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.3, 2.5≥c≥0.1, 11.4≥z≥9.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), RE denotes La and/or Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), RE denotes La.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), RE denotes Ce.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), RE denotes mischmetal consisting of La and Ce, preferably the atomic ratio of La and Ce is 0.8:0.2.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I-2), RE denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounts for about 64 wt %, Ce accounts for about 25 wt %, Pr accounts for about 3 wt % and Nd accounts for about 8 wt %.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 12.5≥z≥11, 4≥a+b>0.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W, 12.5≥z≥11 (when z=11.4, the alloy is stoichiometric A5B19 type; when z≠11.4, the alloy is non-stoichiometric A5B19 type), 4≥a+b>0, 3.5≥c≥0, 2.5≥A+B>0;


preferably, 2.5≥x≥0.5, further preferably, 2.0≥x≥0.5;


preferably, 2.5≥a≥0, further preferably, 2.5≥a≥0.5;


preferably, 1.0≥b≥0, further preferably, 1.0≥b≥0.2, still further preferably, 0.5≥b≥0;


preferably, 2.5≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2;


preferably, 2.5≥c≥0, further preferably, 2.5≥c≥0.1, still further preferably, 0.5≥c≥0;


preferably, 1.0≥A≥0, further preferably, 1.0≥A≥0.1, still further preferably, 0.5≥A≥0.1;


preferably, 1.0≥B≥0, further preferably, 1.0≥B≥0.1, still further preferably, 0.3≥B≥0;


preferably, z=11.4.


In a preferably embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W, 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.5≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2, 2.5≥c≥0.1, 1.0≥A≥0.1, 1.0≥B≥0.1, z=11.4.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 11>z≥9.5; 3.5≥a+b>0; 3≥c≥0.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W, 11>z≥9.5 (when z=10.5, the alloy is stoichiometric A2B7 type; when z≠10.5, the alloy is non-stoichiometric A2B7 type), 3.5≥a+b>0, 3≥c≥0, 2≥A+B>0;


preferably 2.5≥x≥0.5, further preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5;


preferably 2.0≥a≥0, further preferably 2.0≥a≥0.5, further preferably 1.0≥a≥0.5;


preferably 1.0≥b≥0, further preferably 1.0≥b≥0.2, further preferably 0.5≥b≥0;


preferably 2.0≥c≥0, further preferably 2.0≥c≥0.1, further preferably 0.5≥c≥0;


preferably 1.0≥A≥0.1, further preferably 0.5≥A≥0.1;


preferably 1.0≥B≥0.1, further preferably 0.3≥B≥0.1;


preferably 10.8≥z≥9.5, further preferably z=10.5.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W, 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.0≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2, 2.0≥c≥0.1, 1.0≥A≥0.1, 1.0≥B≥0.1, z=10.5.


In a preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), 9.5>z≥8.5; 3≥a+b>0; 2.5≥c≥0.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, W, 9.5>z≥8.5 (when z=9, the alloy is stoichiometric AB3 type; when z≠9, the alloy is non-stoichiometric AB3 type), 3≥a+b>0, 2.5≥c≥0, 2≥A+B>0;


preferably 2.5≥x≥0.5, further preferably 2.0≥x≥0.5, further preferably 1.2≥x≥0.8, for example, x=1;


preferably 2.0≥a≥0, further preferably 2.0≥a≥0.5, further preferably 0.6≥a≥0.4, for example, a=0.5;


preferably 1.0≥b≥0, further preferably 1.0≥b≥0.2, further preferably 0.5≥b≥0;


preferably 2.0≥c≥0, further preferably 2.0≥c≥0.1, further preferably 0.5≥c≥0;


preferably 1.0≥A≥0, further preferably 1.0≥A≥0.1, further preferably 0.5≥A≥0.1;


preferably 1.0≥B≥0, further preferably 1.0≥B≥0.1, further preferably 0.3≥B≥0.2;


preferably 9.4≥z≥8.5, further preferably 9.4≥z≥9, further preferably z=9.


In another preferred embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm and Gd; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V and W, 2.0≥x≥0.5, 2.0≥a≥0.5, 1.0≥b≥0.2, 2.0≥c≥0.1, 1.0≥A≥0.1, 1.0≥B≥0.1, z=9.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), x may be 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 or 0.4, x may also be 0.5, 0.6 or 0.7, x may also be 0.8, 0.9 or 1, x may also be 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3, x may also be 1.4, 1.5 or 1.6, x may also be 1.7, 1.8 or 1.9, x may also be 2, 2.1 or 2.2, x may also be 2.3, 2.4 or 2.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), y may be 0.5, 0.6 or 0.7, y may also be 0.8, 0.9 or 1, y may also be 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3, y may also be 1.4, 1.5 or 1.6, y may also be 1.7, 1.8 or 1.9, y may also be 2, 2.1 or 2.2, y may also be 2.3, 2.4 or 2.5, y may also be 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), a may be 0, a may also be 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5, a may also be 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 or 1, a may also be 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 or 1.5, a may also be 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 or 2, a may also be 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 or 2.5, a may also be 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9 or 3.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), b may be 0, b may also be 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3, b may also be 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6, b may also be 0.7, 0.8 or 0.9, b may also be 1.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), z may be 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9 or 9, z may also be 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 or 9.5, z may also be 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9 or 10, z may also be 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4 or 10.5, z may also be 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 or 11, z may also be 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4 or 11.5, z may also be 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9 or 12, z may also be 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4 or 12.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c may be 0, c may also be 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5, c may also be 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 or 1, c may also be 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 or 1.5, c may also be 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 or 2, c may also be 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 or 2.5, c may also be 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9 or 3, c may also be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), A may be 0, A may also be 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3, A may also be 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6, A may also be 0.7, 0.8 or 0.9, A may also be 1.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), B may be 0, B may also be 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3, B may also be 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6, B may also be 0.7, 0.8 or 0.9, B may also be 1.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), x may be 0.5, 1, 1.2, 1.5, 2 or 2.5, x may also be 1, 1.2 or 1.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), y may be 0.5, 1, 1.5, 1.8, 2 or 2.5, y may also be 1.5, 1.8 or 2.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), a may be 0, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3, a may also be 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2 or 2.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), b may be 0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1 or 1.5, b may also be 0, 0.2, 0.3 or 0.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), c may be 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 or 2.5, c may also be 0, 0.1 or 0.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), A may be 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 or 1, A may also be 0.1, 0.3 or 0.5.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), B may be 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 or 1, B may also be 0, 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), when z=9, the alloy is stoichiometric AB3 type; when z≠9, the alloy is non-stoichiometric AB3 type.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), when z=10.5, the alloy is stoichiometric A2B7 type; z≠10.5, the alloy is non-stoichiometric A2B7 type.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), when z=11.4, the alloy is stoichiometric A5B19 type; z≠11.4, the alloy is non-stoichiometric A5B19 type.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7, La2Ni7, LaNi5, Ni5Y, Ce2Ni7, Al2Ni6Y3 and LaY2Ni9.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7, La2Ni7, LaNi5 and Ce2Ni7.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7, La2Ni7, LaNi5 and Al2Ni6Y3.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7 and LaY2Ni9.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7 and La2Ni7, Ni5Y.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises LaY2Ni9 phase.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), comprises one or more phase(s) selected from Y2Ni7 and La2Ni7.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) comprises Y2Ni7 phase.


In an embodiment for the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) has a maximum hydrogen storage capacity of 1.2˜1.5 wt %, preferably 1.3˜1.5 wt %, optionally 1.2˜1.4 wt % or 1.3˜1.4 wt %, at a temperature of 313K,


In an embodiment, when used as a negative material electrode for a Ni-MH battery, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) has a maximum discharge capacity of 300˜400 mAh/g, preferably 350˜400 mAh/g, further preferably 370˜400 mAh/g, still further preferably 380˜400 mAh/g, at a current density of 70 mA/g. The cut-off discharge voltage may be 1.0V.


In an embodiment, when used as a negative material electrode for a Ni-MH battery, the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) has a capacity retention of more than 85%, preferably more than 90%, more preferably more than 95%, still further preferably more than 98% after 100 cycles of charge and discharge, at a current density of 70 mA/g. The cut-off discharge voltage may be 1.0V.


According to the second aspect of the present application, provided is use of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention as a hydrogen storage medium.


According to the third aspect of the present application, provided is use of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention in manufacturing an electrode of a secondary battery.


The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention may be manufactured into electrode, and the electrode could be made into a secondary battery coupled with other suitable materials. The secondary battery made from the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention can be discharged and recharged for multiple times.


The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention could be produced by a method comprising the following steps:


(i) providing raw materials according to the composition of the alloy product;


(ii) smelting the raw materials;


(iii) rapidly solidifying the smelted raw materials on a copper roller;


preferably, the linear speed of the copper roller in step (iii) is 3-4 m/s, and the copper roller is supplied with cooling water.


In an embodiment, in the method of preparing the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention, after the step of rapidly solidifying, the prepared alloy is annealed at 700˜800° C. for 6˜10 hours, e.g. at 750° C. for 8 hours, under vacuum or inert gas.


In an embodiment, the hydrogen storage alloy of the invention may be produced by high temperature smelting-rapidly quenching method comprising the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately, wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching is 3.4 m/s. The copper roller is cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


In an embodiment, in the method of preparing the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention, the mass ratio of the raw materials which is prior to loss by burning are increased at an appropriate amount, the increase rate is shown in the following table:


















raw material
RE
Y
Mn
Al


increase rate
2%
1%
5%
3%









Besides the abovementioned methods, the hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I) of the invention may be produced by other methods for producing hydrogen storage alloys, such as: high-temperature smelting and casting method, mechanical alloying (MA) method, powder sintering method, high-temperature smelting and gas atomization method, reduction diffusion method, replacement-diffusion method, combustion synthesis (CS) method or self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) method.


According to the fourth aspect of the invention, provided is the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I) as a hydrogen storage medium.


According to the fifth aspect of the invention, provided is the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I) for manufacturing an electrode of a secondary battery.


The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I) could be composited with other hydrogen storage alloys in various proportions to fabricate new hydrogen storage materials.


Heat treatment may be performed to improve the microstructures and properties of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I), for example, to relieve structural stresses and eliminate component segregation, or to improve hydrogen absorption/desorption plateau characteristics or discharge/charge plateau characteristics, or to increase hydrogen storage capacity and cycle life. Various surface treatments may be performed to improve the alloy's performance, such as to improve the kinetics performance of hydrogen absorption/desorption processes or charge/discharge processes of the alloy, or to enhance the antioxidant ability of the alloy, or to improve the electrical/thermal conductivity of the alloy.


In the invention, unless otherwise specified, symbols for elements are consistent with the Periodic Table of Elements. In the general formula (I) of the invention, Y denotes yttrium, Ni denotes nickel, Mn denotes manganese, Al denotes aluminum, Zr denotes zirconium and Ti denotes titanium.


The Beneficial Effects of the Invention


The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention represented by the general formula (I) of the invention has one or more of the following advantage(s):


(1) It has a favorable pressure-composition-temperature (P-c-T) feature. Under normal conditions, the hydrogen storage capacity could reach 1.28 wt % or more, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the alloy could reach 1.36 wt % or more;


(2) The electrochemical performance and hydrogen gas absorption and desorption performance of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention as hydrogen storage electrode are better than the traditional LaNi5 type hydrogen storage alloy;


(3) The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention doesn't contain magnesium, and therefore the preparation methods of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention is easier and safer compared to that of the traditional rare earth-magnesium-nickel hydrogen storage alloy


(4) The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention has favorable activation performance, rate discharge ability, charging/discharging or hydrogen absorbing/desorbing cycling stability. It can work at a wide range of temperature and has a low self-discharge rate.


(5) One of the main components of the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy of the invention is yttrium (Y). As Yttrium is abundant in rare earth minerals, the application of yttrium is beneficial for comprehensive utilization of rare earth resources of China.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the invention and constitute a part of this application, in which:



FIG. 1-1 is an XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy, LaCe0.5Y1.5Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3 (Example A23);



FIG. 1-2 is a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy, LaCe0.5Y1.5Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3 according to the original XRD data of FIG. 1-1 (Example A23);



FIG. 1-3 is a P-c-T curve of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5 (Example A13);



FIG. 2-1 is a XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3 (Example B2);



FIG. 2-2 is a redrawn XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3 according to the original XRD data of FIG. 2-1 (Example B2);



FIG. 2-3 is a P-c-T curve of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3 (Example B2);



FIG. 3-1 is a XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5 (Example C13);



FIG. 3-2 a redrawn XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5 according to the original XRD data of FIG. 3-1 (Example C13);



FIG. 4-1 is a XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5 (Example D28);



FIG. 4-2 a redrawn XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5, according to the original XRD data of FIG. 4-1 (Example D28);



FIG. 4-3 is a pressure-composition-temperature (P-c-T) curve of the alloy LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.3Cu0.2 (Example D38);



FIG. 5-1 is an XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5Zr0.1Ti0.1 (Example E18);



FIG. 5-2 an redrawn XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy, La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5Zr0.1Ti0.1, according to the original XRD data of FIG. 5-1 (Example E18);



FIG. 6-1 is an X ray diffraction pattern of the alloy LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.1 (Example F35);



FIG. 7-1 is an XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy, LaY2Ni8.3Mn0.5Al0.2Zr0.1 (Example G18);



FIG. 7-2 a redrawn XRD pattern of the hydrogen storage alloy, LaY2Ni8.3Mn0.5Al0.2Zr0.1, according to the original XRD data of FIG. 7-1 (Example G18).





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

The embodiments of the invention are further described with reference to the examples and drawings. The examples and the descriptions thereof are to illustrate the invention, yet not to limit the invention.


In the following examples:


1. phase structure analyses are performed on X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), with the following test condition: Cu target, Ka radiation, tube voltage 40 kV, tube current 100 mA, scanning angle 2θ: 20˜80°, scanning speed: 3°/min and scanning step: 0.02°.


2. Equipments for measuring hydrogen storage amount include a PCT measuring instrument for hydrogen storage alloy, a thermostatic water bath and an analytical balance. The purity of the hydrogen used in the test is 99.999%.


Measuring procedure includes: crushing the alloy plates, sieving the crushed alloy with a 14 mesh (1200 μm) screen and a 200 mesh (74 μm) screen, collecting about 2.5 g of the alloy powder passing through 200 mesh screen and putting it into a sample container, vacuuming the sample container for 5 min, then charging the container with hydrogen, calibrating the volume of the sample container according to the ideal-gas equation, then vacuuming the sample container for 30 min, keeping the pressure below 0.001 MPa, activating the alloy for 3 times at 353K, then vacuuming the sample container for 2 h, and obtaining a pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) curve at 313K.


3. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy is produced by high temperature smelting-rapidly quenching method, the method comprising the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately, wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching is 3.4 m/s. The copper roller is cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


4. The electrochemical parameters involved in the following examples include: N, denoting the number of cycles; Cmax, denoting the maximum discharge capacity; S100, denoting the capacity retention ratio after 100 cycles; HRD350, reflecting the discharge ability under a discharge current density (Id) of 350 mA·g−1, LTD243, denoting the capacity retention ratio at a temperature of 243K; SD72, denoting the capacity retention ratio after the battery being stored for 72 hours (self discharge feature).


High-rate discharge capacity (HRD350) mainly reflects the dynamics performance of the hydrogen storage electrodes. HRD350 is calculated according to the following formula:






HRD
=



C
d



C
d

+

C
60



×
100

%





wherein: Cd denotes the discharge capacity measured at a discharge current density (Id) and a cut-off discharge voltage of 1.0V (vs. Ni(OH)2/NiOOH counter electrode), C60 denotes the residual discharge capacity measured at a discharge current density of I=60 mA·g−1 and a cut-off voltage of 1.0V after the alloy electrode has been fully discharge at high discharge current density (Id). HRD350 denotes the HRD measured at a discharge current density (Id) of 350 mA·g−1.


LTD243 reflects the discharge performance at a low temperature of 243K. The low temperature discharge performance (LTD) is calculated according to the following formula:






LTD
=



C
T


C
298


×
100

%





In the formula: CT denotes the maximum discharge capacity at a current density of 70 mA/g at a low temperature (243K), C298 denotes the maximum discharge capacity at a current density of 70 mA/g at the normal temperature (298K).


SD72 denotes the self-discharge rate measured after the battery has been rested for 72 hours. SD72 reflects the self-discharge ability (charge retention ability). The test condition includes: measuring the discharge capacity Ca by charging a battery for 6 h at a rate of 0.2C, resting the battery for 10 min, discharging the battery to 1.0V at a rate of 0.2C, and then measuring the discharge capacity Cb, by charging the battery at a rate of 0.2C for 6 h, resting the battery for 72 h, discharging the battery to 1.0 V at a rate of 0.2C, and then measuring the discharge capacity Cc by charging and discharging the battery at a rate of 0.2C. SD72, which denotes the charge retention ratio after the battery being rested for 72 h, is calculated by the following formula:

2Cb/(Ca+Cc)×100%


Example A1˜A23

A2B7 type RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloys in Example A1˜A23 were produced by applying the high temperature smelting-rapidly quenching method.


The alloys in Example A13 and Example A14 were produced by using the same raw material composition. The alloy in Example A13 was produced by applying the above-mentioned high temperature smelting-rapidly quenching method, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy in Example A14 was also produced by applying the above-mentioned high temperature smelting-rapidly quenching method. Besides, an annealing step was added to the producing method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately, wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example A20 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The test method for electrodes includes: mechanically crushing the alloys of Example A1˜A23 into 200-300 mesh alloy powder, mixing the alloy powder with carbonyl nickel powder by a weight ratio of 1:4, tabletting the mixed powder with a pressure of 16 MPa to form φ15 mm a MH electrodes plate, placing an electrode plate between two pieces of nickel foams, meanwhile, placing nickel belts between the nickel foams as the battery tabs, pressing the nickel forms with a pressure of 16 MPa to form a hydrogen storage anode (MH electrode) for testing, spot welding the edge of the electrode to make sure the electrode and the nickel forms were in close contact.


An open two-electrode system was used to test the electrochemical performance, native electrode was MH electrode; positive electrode was sintered Ni(OH)2/NiOOH electrode with surplus capacity; electrolyte was 6 mol·L−1 KOH solution. The assembled battery was being rested for 24 h, and then tested on a LAND battery testing equipment employing galvanostatic method to test their electrochemical performance (such as activating times, maximum capacity, high rate discharge capacity HRD, cycling stability, etc.). The environmental temperature during the test is 298K. The charge current density was 70 mA·g−1; the charging time was 6 h; the discharge current density was 70 mA·g−1; the discharge cut-off voltage was 1.0V, the interval between each charge and discharge was 10 min.


The A2B7 type RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloys of Example A1˜A23 and their electrochemical performance are listed in Table 1.









TABLE 1







A2B7 type RExYyNiz−a−bMnaAlb hydrogen storage


alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances

















Cmax
S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
(mAh · g−1)
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





A1
LaY2Ni8.7Mn0.5Al0.3
3
381
95
93
81
80


A2
LaY2Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3
2
386
93
91
82
83


A3
LaY2Ni10Mn0.5Al0.3
2
375
93
91
86
84


A4
LaY2Ni10Mn0.5
2
378
93
93
82
81


A5
LaY2Ni9.5Mn
1
367
91
90
85
82


A6
La0.5Y2.5Ni9.5Mn
1
352
95
92
87
81


A7
La0.5Y2.5Ni9.5Al
3
337
98
87
85
86


A8
La2YNi9.5Mn
3
365
88
89
82
85


A9
La2.5Y0.5Ni9.5Mn
3
351
85
85
79
87


A10
LaY2Ni10Al0.5
3
346
98
91
85
83


A11
LaY2Ni9.3MnAl0.2
1
352
93
90
86
83


A12
LaY2Ni9MnAl0.5
2
349
96
87
83
85


A13
LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
2
362
90
89
84
80


A14
LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
369
92
91
86
83


A15
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
357
93
88
81
83


A16
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
343
95
91
86
85


A17
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
363
93
90
85
80


A18
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
354
96
84
83
80


A19
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
352
97
82
83
81


A20
MlY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5
3
352
96
90
85
83


A21
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni8.5Mn1.5Al0.5
3
353
92
88
86
82


A22
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni7.5Mn2.5Al0.5
3
342
93
82
87
85


A23
LaCe0.5Y1.5Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3
3
361
90
85
87
86









According to Table 1, compared with the LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5 alloy of Example A13, the alloy electrode of Example A14, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the LaCe0.5Y1.5Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3 alloy of Example A23 was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 1-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 1-1, the alloy may contains Ce2Ni7 phase, Y2Ni7 phase, LaNi5 phase, LaY2Ni9 phase or La0.5Ce0.5Y2Ni9 phase.



FIG. 1-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy according to the original XRD data of Example A23. As shown in the figure, the alloy contains Y2Ni7 phase, La2Ni7 phase, LaNi5 phase and Ce2Ni7 phase.



FIG. 1-3 is a pressure-composition-temperature curve (P-c-T curve) of LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5 alloy of Example A13 measured at 313K by applying Sievert method. As shown in FIG. 1-3, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the alloy could reach 1.36 wt % and the hydrogen desorption plateau pressure is about 0.05 MPa. The A31212482001 curve denotes the hydrogen absorption curve of the alloy and the D31212482001 curve denotes the hydrogen desorption curve of the alloy.


Example B1˜B22

The A5B19 type RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb of Example B1˜B22 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example B13 and Example B14 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example B13 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately, (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example B14 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately, (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example B20 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The A5B19 type RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloys of Example B1˜B22 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table.









TABLE 2







A5B19 type RExYyNiz−a−bMnaAlb hydrogen storage


alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances

















Cmax
S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
(mAh · g−1)
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





B1
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.3
3
372
93
95
80
83


B2
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3
2
383
90
91
82
81


B3
LaY2Ni11.7Mn0.5Al0.3
2
365
95
90
83
85


B4
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.8
2
376
93
93
80
82


B5
LaY2Ni9.9Mn1.5
1
367
91
90
85
81


B6
La0.5Y2.5Ni9.9Mn1.5
3
351
94
93
87
82


B7
La2.0YNi9.9Mn1.5
2
361
92
89
84
85


B8
La2.5Y0.5Ni9.9Mn1.5
1
353
89
87
80
87


B9
LaY2Ni9.9Al1.5
3
330
98
88
83
89


B10
LaY2Ni10.6Al0.8
3
342
96
91
87
83


B11
LaY2Ni9.4Mn1.5Al0.5
1
362
93
90
83
80


B12
LaY2Ni10.1MnAl0.3
2
383
90
87
85
82


B13
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5
2
380
92
89
81
80


B14
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
383
93
91
86
83


B15
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
372
96
88
81
85


B16
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
363
95
90
85
83


B17
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
370
93
90
82
80


B18
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
354
96
87
85
83


B19
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
351
97
87
83
85


B20
MlY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5
3
360
94
90
81
82


B21
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.4Mn1.5Al0.5
3
362
91
87
85
83


B22
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni7.9Mn3Al0.5
3
350
93
82
86
85









According to Table 2, compared with the LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5 alloy of Example B13, the alloy electrode of Example B14, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3 alloy (Example B2) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 2-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 2-1, the alloy may contain MnNi8Y3 phase, YNi3.912Al1.088 phase, LaNi5 phase, Ni7Y2 phase, or LaY2Ni9 phase, etc. The alloy may also contain YNi3 phase, Y2Ni7 phase, LaY2Ni9 phase, LaNi5 phase, Pr5Co19 phase or Ce5Co19 phase, etc.



FIG. 2-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy according to the original XRD data of Example B2. As shown in the figure, the alloy contains Y2Ni7, La2Ni7, LaNi5 and Al2Ni6Y3 phase.



FIG. 2-3 is a pressure-composition-temperature curve (P-c-T curve) of LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3 alloy (Example B2) measured at 313K by applying Sievert method. As shown in FIG. 2-3, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the alloy could reach 1.33 wt % and the hydrogen desorption plateau pressure is about 0.1 MPa. The A32512333001 curve in denotes the hydrogen absorption curve of the alloy and D32512333001 curve denotes the hydrogen desorption curve of the alloy.


Example C1˜C22

The AB3 type RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloy of Example C1˜C22 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example C13 and Example C14 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example C13 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example C14 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example C20 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The RExYyNiz-a-bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloys of Example C1˜C22 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table 3.









TABLE 3







RExYyNiz−a−bMnaAlb hydrogen storage alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances

















Cmax
S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
(mAh · g−1)
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





C1
LaY2Ni7.7Mn0.5Al0.3
2
345
92
89
80
81


C2
LaY2Ni8.2Mn0.5Al0.3
2
362
93
91
81
83


C3
LaY2Ni8.5Mn0.5Al0.3
3
369
95
93
82
80


C4
LaY2Ni8.5Mn0.5
2
367
93
93
80
78


C5
LaY2Ni8Mn
1
357
91
90
80
82


C6
La0.5Y2.5Ni8Mn
3
351
97
93
85
80


C7
La2.0YNi8Mn
2
359
95
89
82
82


C8
La2.5Y0.5Ni8Mn
1
354
91
87
79
85


C9
LaY2Ni8Al
3
342
98
87
81
85


C10
LaY2Ni8.5Al0.5
3
339
98
91
81
83


C11
LaY2Ni7.7MnAl0.2
1
342
93
90
83
83


C12
LaY2Ni7.5MnAl0.5
2
332
96
87
81
85


C13
LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
2
352
90
89
80
80


C14
LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
362
91
92
83
82


C15
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
345
93
88
82
85


C16
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
335
95
92
80
86


C17
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
357
92
90
80
82


C18
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
351
97
86
82
86


C19
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
348
98
87
82
87


C20
MlY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5
3
352
96
90
81
83


C21
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni7Mn1.5Al0.5
3
343
90
87
83
82


C22
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni6.5Mn2Al0.5
3
337
92
89
85
86









According to Table 3, compared with the LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5 alloy of Example C13, the alloy electrode of Example C14, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5 alloy (Example C13) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 3-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 3-1, the alloy may contain MnNi8Y3 phase, Al0.20LaNi2.80 phase or LaMn0.17Ni2.83 phase, etc. The alloy may also contain YNi3 phase or LaNi3 phase, etc.



FIG. 3-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy according to the original XRD data of Example C13. As shown in the figure, the alloy contains LaY2Ni9 phase or Ni7Y2 phase.


Example D1˜D38

The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMc hydrogen storage alloy of Example D1˜D38 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example D7 and D8 as well as Example D28 and D29 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example D7 and D28 were prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example D8 and D29 were prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example D37 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMc hydrogen storage alloys of Example D1˜D38 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table.









TABLE 4







RExYyNiz−a−b−cMnaAlbMchydrogen storage alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances

















Cmax
S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
(mAh · g−1)
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





D1
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5Cu
3
352
95
93
81
83


D2
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5Fe
2
346
94
93
82
81


D3
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5Co
2
368
92
90
81
83


D4
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5Sn
2
356
93
92
80
80


D5
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5(VFe)
1
347
95
87
82
81


D6
LaY2Ni6.5MnAl0.5W
3
352
93
90
78
80


D7
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5Cu
3
371
90
88
81
80


D8
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5Cu
2
376
92
91
83
82


D9
La0.5Y2.5Ni8MnAl0.5Cu
3
362
96
93
84
80


D10
La2YNi8MnAl0.5Cu
2
367
90
87
80
82


D11
La2.5Y0.5Ni8MnAl0.5Cu
1
360
87
85
77
83


D12
LaY2Ni8MnAlCu
3
355
95
83
82
85


D13
LaY2Ni8MnAlCu0.1
3
361
92
82
79
87


D14
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5Fe
2
363
93
90
81
81


D15
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5Co
2
378
90
92
83
82


D16
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5Sn
2
362
95
92
82
79


D17
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5(VFe)
1
357
93
90
82
81


D18
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5W
3
352
97
91
83
80


D19
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Cu
3
365
91
90
81
82


D20
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Fe
2
353
94
91
80
79


D21
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Co
2
369
95
90
81
80


D22
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Sn
2
356
96
92
78
82


D23
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5(VFe)
1
347
93
90
82
81


D24
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5W
3
342
98
91
84
83


D25
LaY2Ni9MnAl0.5CoCu
3
352
95
93
85
83


D26
LaY2Ni5MnAl0.5CuSn
2
349
96
91
82
81


D27
LaY2Ni8MnAl0.5CoCuSn0.5
2
354
95
90
78
80


D28
La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5
2
372
90
89
81
79


D29
La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5
3
377
92
91
84
82


D30
LaY2Ni8.9MnAl0.5(VFe)
1
352
93
91
82
81


D31
LaY2Ni8.9MnAl0.5W
3
339
98
91
85
83


D32
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni8MnAl0.5Cu
3
363
92
89
83
82


D33
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni8MnAl0.5Co
3
353
95
90
85
83


D34
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni8MnAl0.5Fe
3
356
93
90
82
80


D35
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni8MnAl0.5Sn
3
334
97
90
85
83


D36
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni8MnAl0.5Sn
3
331
97
91
84
84


D37
MlY2Ni7.7MnAl0.3CoCu0.5
3
355
92
90
83
82


D38
LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.3Cu0.2
2
363
92
88
81
80









According to Table 4, compared with the alloys of Example D7 and D28 respectively, the alloy electrodes of Example D8 and D29, which have been subjected to annealing heat treatment, have increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5 alloy (Example D28) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 4-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 4-1, the alloy may mainly contain La2Ni7 phase.



FIG. 4-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5 according to the original XRD data of Example D28. As shown in the figure, the alloy contains Y2Ni7 phase, La2Ni7 phase or Ni5Y phase.



FIG. 4-3 is a pressure-composition-temperature curve (P-c-T curve) of LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.3Cu0.2 alloy (Example D38) measured at 313K by applying Sievert method. As shown in FIG. 4-3, the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of the alloy could reach 1.28 wt % and the hydrogen desorption plateau pressure is about 0.03 MPa. The A32513142001 curve in denotes the hydrogen absorption curve of the alloy and D32513142001 curve denotes the hydrogen desorption curve of the alloy.


Example E1˜E34

The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloy of Example E1˜E34 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example E14 and Example E15 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example E14 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example E15 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example E28 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloys of Example E1˜E34 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table.









TABLE 5







RExYyNiz−a−b−cMnaAlbMcZrATiBhydrogen storage alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances


















S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
CmaxmAh · g−1
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





E1
LaY2Ni8.7Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
386
96
92
79
82


E2
LaY2Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
389
94
92
82
83


E3
LaY2Ni10Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
382
93
91
80
81


E4
LaY2Ni10Mn0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
387
91
90
82
79


E5
La0.5Y2.5Ni10Mn0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
373
95
93
84
82


E6
La2YNi10Mn0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
379
92
91
81
80


E7
La2.5Y0.5Ni10Mn0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
381
89
87
78
81


E8
LaY2Ni9.5MnZr0.5Ti0.3
1
373
92
90
83
81


E9
LaY2Ni9Mn1.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
365
91
87
79
83


E10
LaY2Ni8.5Mn2Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
359
89
85
75
84


E11
LaY2Ni10Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
352
96
90
79
82


E12
LaY2Ni9.2MnAl0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
360
92
89
81
80


E13
LaY2Ni9MnAl0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
354
94
89
82
83


E14
LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
367
92
90
79
80


E15
LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
375
93
92
83
83


E16
LaY2Ni9Mn0.5AlZr0.5Ti0.3
3
366
97
90
80
85


E17
La1.2Y1.8Ni9.6Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.1Zr0.1Ti0.1
2
378
91
93
80
77


E18
La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5Zr0.1Ti0.1
3
371
93
91
79
80


E19
La1.2Y1.8Ni8.7Mn0.5Al0.3CoZr0.1Ti0.1
3
362
95
88
76
82


E20
La1.2Y1.8Ni7.7Mn0.5Al0.3Co2Zr0.1Ti0.1
4
351
98
85
72
85


E21
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5
3
363
95
90
82
85


E22
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr
5
342
98
87
80
86


E23
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Ti0.5
3
349
93
91
80
82


E24
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Ti
4
337
97
89
81
85


E25
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
370
95
91
82
81


E26
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.2
3
362
95
88
78
79


E27
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.2
3
359
96
90
80
81


E28
MlY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Ti0.2
3
357
93
91
80
81


E29
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2Cu0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
374
92
92
81
82


E30
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2Fe0.5Zr0.5
2
369
95
91
83
82


E31
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2Co0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
387
93
90
83
81


E32
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2Sn0.5Ti0.3
2
366
93
92
82
80


E33
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2(VFe)0.5Zr0.3
2
361
95
91
80
81


E34
LaY2Ni9.3Mn0.5Al0.2W0.5Zr0.3
3
355
96
90
82
80









According to Table 5, compared with the LaY2Ni9.5Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3 alloy of Example E14, the alloy electrode of Example E15, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the La1.2Y1.8Ni9.2Mn0.5Al0.3Co0.5Zr0.1Ti0.1 alloy (Example E18) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 5-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 5-1, the alloy may contain La2Ni7 phase, LaY2Ni9 phase, Y2Ni7 phase, Ni5La phase or LaNi5 phase, etc. The alloy may also contain Ce2Ni7 or Y2Ni7 phase.



FIG. 5-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy according to the original XRD data of Example E18. As shown in the figure, the alloy contains Y2Ni7, La2Ni7, Ni5Y phase.


Example F1˜F35

The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloy of Example F1˜B35 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example F12 and Example F13 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example F12 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount) wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example F13 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example F24 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloys of Example F1˜F35 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table 6.









TABLE 6







RExYyNiz−a−b−cMnaAlbMcZrATiBhydrogen storage alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances


















S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
CmaxmAh · g−1
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





F1
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
377
95
92
83
80


F2
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
387
93
90
82
81


F3
LaY2Ni11.7Mn0.5Al0.3Zi0.3Ti0.2
2
371
95
91
80
85


F4
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.8Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
380
94
92
82
82


F5
La0.5Y2.5Ni10.6Mn0.8Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
374
96
93
85
77


F6
La2YNi10.6Mn0.8Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
383
89
90
81
83


F7
La2.5Y0.5Ni10.6Mn0.8Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
377
88
87
78
85


F8
LaY2Ni9.9Mn1.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
375
93
91
85
82


F9
LaY2Ni10.6Al0.8Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
353
98
92
85
83


F10
LaY2Ni9.4Mn1.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
369
95
91
83
83


F11
LaY2Ni10.1MnAl0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
388
93
89
85
82


F12
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
385
92
91
83
82


F13
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
387
93
93
85
83


F14
LaY2Ni8.9Mn2Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
375
92
90
82
85


F15
LaY2Ni8.4Mn2.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
371
91
88
81
86


F16
LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5ZrTi0.3
4
357
98
92
86
87


F17
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.5
3
380
95
90
83
82


F18
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5Ti0.5
3
365
94
90
82
81


F19
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5Ti
4
357
96
91
83
79


F20
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
378
92
90
85
83


F21
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni9.4MnAlZr0.3Ti0.2
4
361
97
83
80
85


F22
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.2
3
357
96
89
84
80


F23
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.2
3
358
96
90
85
82


F24
MlY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Ti0.2
3
363
96
91
82
82


F25
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2Cu0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
370
93
90
82
80


F26
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2Fe0.5Zr0.5
2
358
96
90
83
81


F27
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.2Co0.1Zr0.3Ti0.2
1
377
92
93
84
78


F28
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2Co0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
374
95
91
82
80


F29
LaY2Ni9.7Mn0.5Al0.2CoZr0.3Ti0.2
3
362
96
88
79
82


F30
LaY2Ni8.7Mn0.5Al0.2Co2Zr0.3Ti0.2
4
351
97
85
75
83


F31
LaY2Ni8.2Mn0.5Al0.2Co2.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
4
342
98
81
71
85


F32
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2Sn0.5Ti0.3
2
361
95
90
81
79


F33
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2(VFe)0.5Zr0.3
1
356
95
91
83
82


F34
LaY2Ni10.2Mn0.5Al0.2W0.5Zr0.3
3
350
98
92
84
83


F35
LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.1
1
377
93
93
85
83









According to Table 6, compared with the LaY2Ni9.9MnAl0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3 alloy of Example F12, the alloy electrode of Example F13, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the LaY2Ni10.6Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.1 alloy (Example F35) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 6-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 6-1, the alloy may contain Y2Ni7 phase, La2Ni7 phase, Pr5Co19 phase, Ce5Co19 phase or LaNi5 phase.


Example G1˜G34

The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloy of Example G1˜G34 were prepared by adopting the high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method.


The alloy of Example G15 and Example G16 were prepared from the same raw materials. The alloy of Example G15 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount), wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C.


The alloy of Example G16 was prepared by applying the abovementioned high-temperature smelting rapidly quenching method. Additionally, an annealing heat treatment step was added in the preparing process. Specifically, the method including the following steps: providing components satisfying the stoichiometric ratio of the chemical formula by weighing each raw material accurately (the raw materials with high burning loss were increased by appropriate amount) wherein the purity of each elemental metal or intermediate alloy used as raw material is greater than 99.0%; putting the raw materials into an Al2O3 crucible in sequence, vacuuming the crucible to a pressure of 3.0 Pa, and then filling the crucible with an inert gas Ar to a pressure of 0.055 MPa; smelting the raw materials, keeping the temperature of the smelted raw materials for about 6 minutes and then performing rapidly quenching. The linear speed of the copper roller used for rapidly quenching was 3.4 m/s. The copper roller was cooled with cooling water having a temperature of 25° C. The rapidly solidified alloy sheet was further annealed at 750° C. for 8 h under vacuum or inert gas atmosphere.


The Ml in Example G25 denotes Lanthanum-rich mischmetal, La accounted for about 64%, Ce accounted for about 25%, Pr accounted for about 3% and Nd accounted for about 8%.


The method for preparing the test electrode was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The method for testing electrochemical performance was same as that of Example A1˜A23.


The RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB hydrogen storage alloys of Example G1˜G34 and their electrochemical performance are listed in the following table.









TABLE 7







RExYyNiz−a−b−cMnaAlbMcZrATiBhydrogen storage alloy and their electrochemical performance









electrochemical performances


















S100
HRD350
LTD243



Example
hydrogen storage alloy
N
CmaxmAh · g−1
(%)
(%)
(%)
SD72





G1
LaY2Ni7.7Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
353
96
91
80
80


G2
LaY2Ni8.2Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
367
93
90
79
81


G3
LaY2Ni8.5Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
375
92
91
77
80


G4
La0.5Y2.5Ni8.5Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.3Ti0.2
4
351
97
94
81
76


G5
La2YNi8.5Mn0.5Al0.3Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
363
93
89
75
79


G6
LaY2Ni8.9Mn0.5Zr0.1Ti0.3
1
374
90
92
81
77


G7
LaY2Ni8.5Mn0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
372
93
92
78
79


G8
LaY2Ni8Mn0.5ZrTi0.3
3
365
97
87
73
81


G9
LaY2Ni8MnZr0.5Ti0.3
1
363
91
90
77
80


G10
LaY2Ni7.5Mn1.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
359
90
87
74
83


G11
LaY2Ni7Mn2Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
350
93
85
71
85


G12
LaY2Ni8.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.1
3
343
98
92
80
83


G13
LaY2Ni7.7MnAl0.3Zr0.5Ti0.3
1
352
92
89
78
81


G14
LaY2Ni7.5MnAl0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
340
97
90
81
82


G15
LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
2
359
91
89
79
82


G16
LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3
3
370
92
91
80
82


G17
LaY2Ni7.5Mn0.5AlZr0.5Ti0.3
4
352
96
88
75
84


G18
LaY2Ni8.3Mn0.5Al0.2Zr0.1
3
367
93
90
79
80


G19
LaY1.5Ce0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5
3
351
94
89
77
80


G20
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Ti0.5
2
357
93
91
76
83


G21
LaY1.5Sm0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Ti
3
348
96
93
80
82


G22
La0.8Ce0.2Y2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
368
92
91
79
80


G23
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Sm0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.2
3
355
95
88
80
79


G24
La0.8Ce0.2Y1.5Nd0.5Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.2
3
352
96
90
81
80


G25
MlY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Ti0.2
3
359
96
91
78
80


G26
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2Cu0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
3
363
93
94
82
81


G27
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2Fe0.5Zr0.5
2
352
93
92
83
81


G28
LaY2Ni8.2Mn0.5Al0.2Co0.1Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
375
90
89
84
80


G29
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2Co0.5Zr0.3Ti0.2
2
373
93
91
81
82


G30
LaY2Ni7.3Mn0.5Al0.2CoZr0.3Ti0.2
3
361
96
87
77
83


G31
LaY2Ni6.3Mn0.5Al0.2Co2Zr0.3Ti0.2
4
348
98
82
73
85


G32
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2Sn0.5Ti0.3
2
359
94
92
80
79


G33
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2(VFe)0.5Zr0.3
1
352
96
89
82
80


G34
LaY2Ni7.8Mn0.5Al0.2W0.5Zr0.3
3
355
95
91
82
81









According to Table 7, compared with the LaY2Ni8Mn0.5Al0.5Zr0.5Ti0.3 alloy of Example G15, the alloy electrode alloy of Example G16, which has been subjected to annealing heat treatment, has increased electrochemical capacity, and improved cycle life, discharge capacity, low temperature discharge characteristic, as well as self-discharge performance.


The microstructure of the LaY2Ni8.3Mn0.5Al0.2Zr0.1 alloy (Example G18) was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 7-1 shows an XRD pattern exported from the X-ray diffractometer. As shown in FIG. 7-1, the alloy may contain LaY2Ni9 phase or LaNi phase.



FIG. 7-2 shows a redrawn XRD pattern of hydrogen storage alloy according to the original XRD data of Example G18. As shown in the figure, the alloy contain LaY2Ni9 phase.


Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are merely provided for describing the technical solutions of the present invention but not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art: the technical features of the present invention may still be modified or equivalent replacements may be made to some technical features; without departing from the spirit of the present invention, which should be covered in the scope of the technical solutions.

Claims
  • 1. A rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy represented by the general formula (I): RExYyNiz-a-b-cMnaAlbMcZrATiB   (I)wherein RE denotes one or more element(s) selected from the group consisting of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd; M denotes one or more element(s) selected from the group consisting of Cu, Fe, Co, Sn, V, and W; x>0, y≥0.5, and x+y=3, 13≥z≥7; 6≥a+b>0, 5≥c≥0, and 4≥A+B≥0.
  • 2. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein x>0, y≥0.5, x+y=3; 12.5≥z≥8.5; 5.5≥a+b>0, 3.5≥c≥0, and 2.5≥A+B≥0.
  • 3. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 2, wherein c=0 and A=B=0.
  • 4. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 3, wherein 12.5≥z≥11.
  • 5. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 3, wherein 11>z≥9.5; and 4.5≥a+b>0.
  • 6. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 3, wherein 9.5>z≥8.5; and 3.5≥a+b>0.
  • 7. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 2, wherein A=B=0, and c>0.
  • 8. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 7, wherein 3.5≥a+b≥0; and 3.0≥c>0.
  • 9. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 2, wherein 2.5≥A+B>0.
  • 10. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 9, wherein 12.5≥z≥11, and 4≥a+b>0.
  • 11. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 9, wherein 11>z≥9.5; 3.5≥a+b>0; and 3≥c≥0.
  • 12. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 9, wherein 9.5>z≥8.5; 3≥a+b>0; and 2.5≥c≥0.
  • 13. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-iv) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 3.0≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.5≥b≥0.3;iv) z=11.4.
  • 14. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-iv) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.5≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.2;iv) z=10.5.
  • 15. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-iv) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.0≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.2;iv) z=9.
  • 16. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-v) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.0≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.3;iv) 11.4≥z≥9;v) 2.5≥c≥0.1.
  • 17. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-vii) apply: i) 2≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.5≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.2;iv) z=11.4;v) 2.5≥c≥0.1;vi) 1.0≥A≥0.1;vii) 1.0≥B≥0.1.
  • 18. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-vii) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.0≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.2;iv) z=10.5;v) 2.0≥c≥0.1;vi) 1.0≥A≥0.1;vii) 1.0≥B≥0.1.
  • 19. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-vii) apply: i) 2.0≥x≥0.5;ii) 2.0≥a≥0.5;iii) 1.0≥b≥0.2;iv) z=9;v) 2.0≥c≥0.1;vi) 1.0≥A≥0.1;vii) 1.0≥B≥0.1.
  • 20. The rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following items i)-iii) apply: i) the alloy has a maximum hydrogen storage capacity of 1.2-1.5 wt % at 313K;ii) when utilized as a negative material electrode for a Ni-MH battery, the alloy has a maximum discharge capacity of 300-400 mAh/g at a current density of 70 mA/g;iii) the alloy has a capacity retention of more than 85%, at a current density of 70 mA/g.
  • 21. A hydrogen storage medium comprising the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1.
  • 22. An electrode of a secondary battery comprising the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1.
  • 23. A secondary battery comprising the rare earth based hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1.
Priority Claims (7)
Number Date Country Kind
2014 1 0427179 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0427199 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0427220 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0427259 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0427281 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0429187 Aug 2014 CN national
2014 1 0429202 Aug 2014 CN national
PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind
PCT/CN2015/088274 8/27/2015 WO 00
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO2016/029861 3/3/2016 WO A
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Related Publications (1)
Number Date Country
20170288217 A1 Oct 2017 US