Comparative Analysis of the Characteristics of Amorphous, Nanocrystalline, and Crystalline Membrane Alloys

The developed membrane and battery compositions of alloys for hydrogen energy meet the requirements of producing high-purity hydrogen (>99.999%). However, their low thermal stability and insufficient mechanical strength (plasticity, hardness) remain a challenging problem. In this work, we focus on studying the processes of formation of various types of dispersed phases in matrices during melt cooling, since they determine the properties of membranes, including undesirable intermetallic and hydride embrittlement. The elimination of problems is achieved by the formation of duplex and ternary matrix structures in membranes, in which amorphous, nano-, and quasicrystalline dispersed phases can coexist with each other. Various membrane alloy compositions from Group V elements and transition metals with Ti and Ta alloying additives (Cu, Ni, Fe, V, Nb, Ta + Zr, Ti, W, Mo) are fabricated and studied. Some of them have shown excellent thermal stability, plasticity, and diffusion hydrogen permeability during membrane operation.