Preparation of Al-3Ga-3In-3Sn Alloy Powder by Coupling Alloying and Ball Milling and Its Application on High-Rate Hydrogen Generation at Room Temperature

Abstract

High hydro-active Al-3Ga-3In-3Sn alloys were prepared by coupling alloying and mechanical milling methods. NiCl2 was added to the alloy during ball milling as the catalyst. XRD, SEM, and XAFS were used for the characterization of the hydro-active alloy. The hydrogen generation properties were systematically investigated in tap water at room temperature. The results show that the hydrogen generation rate is 11.02 L∙min−1∙g−1, and the conversion yield is 90.25% for the Al-3Ga-3In-3Sn-2NiCl2 composite with a ball milling time of 2 h at room temperature in tap water. The hydrolysis reaction contains the expansion of the Al-based phase into a nano-sized layer and the further hydrolysis reaction of the layered Al phase with water. The activation mechanism was also investigated, and the activation of Al was attributed to the Al-Ni galvanic with the existing Cl−, which leads to a faster hydrolysis reaction rate for ball-milled powder with NiCl2.