Objective
Research objectives and content The main aim of the present project is to produce new materials which can be used as negative electrodes of MH batteries with a better storage capacity than the currently used ones. LaNi5 compounds have reached today industrial seal production, however their capacity is limited to 370 mAh/g The search for increased capacities leads now to investigate new families of alloys like body-centred cubic vanadium based solid solutions, because they have larger theoretical hydrogen storage properties. It is worthy to remark that Ni-MH batteries are nowadays economically competitive and much more friendly with nature than the currently employed batteries. Preliminary experiments carried out at Dr. Percheron-Guegan's lab have shown that the compound Ti0.21 V067 Nio Ni0.12 give a reversible electrochemical capacity dose to 500 mAh/g. Therefore, we propose to investigate the ternary system Vanadium Titanium-Nickel to optimise not only the hydrogen loading capacity but also hydrogen activation and electrolyte corrosion, problems. The alloys will be synthesised by conventional induction melting or mechanical alloying They will be characterise. by optical metallography, electron probe micro-analysis and X-ray diffraction in order to verify the number, nature composition and homogeneity of the present phases. Their hydrogenation behaviour will be studied both by volumetriv measurements and by electrochemical techniques. Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact) The training content of this proposal will allow me to gain experience in the field of metal hydride batteries, the use of electrochemical techniques, and the development of new intermetallic compounds. This fact together with my present stay in Germany working on thin film hydrides obtained by gas-solid reactions will give me a broad knowledge on metal hydride systems. I hope that this knowledge will be reverted in the future to the European research in the area of metal hydrides or' other related topics, such as energy storage or production of new metallic alloys. Links with industry / industrial relevance (22) The industrial company SAFT (Marcoussis, France) which has been collaborating with Dr. Percheron-Guegan's research team since five years on MH batteries agrees with the application and objectives of the present proposal. This fact ensures that the results of this investigation will have a direct influence on a future commercialisation of the resulting materials.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
RGI - Research grants (individual fellowships)Coordinator
94320 THIAIS
France