Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Seville (ICMS) are carrying out a project of excellence that consists of the preparation of new materials for storing hydrogen. This gas is currently stored in bottles that concentrate the hydrogen at high pressure. These containers have a high volume and are dangerous to transport because of their high flammability, a feature that is a drawback when moving them. In order to alleviate this problem, an ICMS research team, led by Luis Allan Pérez Maqueda, is developing a study dedicated to synthesizing and characterizing new materials – derived from magnesium hydride – that are capable of safely and reversibly holding large quantities of hydrogen.

According to Luis Allan Pérez Maqueda, ICMS Research Scientist, the novelty of this project lies in the method used to manufacture the materials. This group has used a high-energy planetary mill, where a metal or an alloy is reacted with hydrogen gas. The qualifier of planetary comes from the spinning of the mill’s jar on its axis, similar to the motion of the planets around the Sun. Therefore, this research is based on the mechanical energy of the mill, which induces the chemical reactions that are intended to be obtained. In this case, the result of this procedure has been the synthesis of metal hydrides that concentrate hydrogen atoms in solid phase.
The full title of this project is “Mechanosynthesis of metal hydrides and multiferroic perowskites in a high-energy planetary mill under high pressures” and it has received some 197,668 euros from the Junta de Andalucía, which has distinguished it as a research of excellence. This study also has a second objective, which consists of preparing materials by mechanochemical means. Through this type of research, this ICMS group could develop new applications with materials such as bismuth ferrite, an important component in the computer sector, since it is used in computer memory systems.

This was reported by ‘Andalucía Innova’.