A noteworthy synergistic catalysis on hydrogen sorption kinetics of MgH2 with bimetallic oxide Sc2O3/TiO2

The positive effect of heterogeneous catalysis on hydrogen storage performance of magnesium hydride (MgH2) has been recognized by a large number of researchers. In the present paper, a bimetallic oxide catalyst Sc2O3/TiO2 with noteworthy synergistic catalysis is synthesized by a facile method. A significant enhancement of hydrogen storage performance is achieved when 5 wt% Sc2O3/TiO2 catalyst is added into MgH2. It absorbs 6.08 wt% H2 within 3000 s at 200 °C and releases 6.21 wt% H2 within 1000 s at 300 °C, which is far better than that of Mg/MgH2. The excellent performance is attributed to the synergistic catalysis of bimetallic oxides. The uniform distribution of Sc and Ti evidenced by EDS is beneficial to the synergistic catalytic effect on the surface of Mg particles. This study further confirms the initiative of multi-phase synergistic catalysis and provides insights for the selection and design of catalysts.