Tuning TiFe1-xNix Hydride Thermodynamics through Compositional Tailoring

In this study, we investigate how structural modifications induced by Fe substitution with Ni in the TiFe intermetallic alloy affect the thermodynamics of hydride formation and decomposition. The primary goal of substituting Fe with Ni was to reduce the plateau pressure of TiFe, a crucial parameter for reversible solid-state hydrogen storage applications under near-ambient conditions (below 150 °C and 50 bar). Alloy compositions TiFe1-xNix with x ≤ 0.30 were synthesized by arc melting. The structural and morphological properties were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The thermodynamic properties were investigated through volumetric measurements using a Sieverts’ apparatus and calorimetric analysis with a high-pressure differential scanning calorimeter. We show that Ni incorporation effectively lowers the plateau pressure, stabilizing the hydride thermodynamics due to a more negative enthalpy of hydride formation. Moreover, the entropy of hydride formation increases with the Ni content, resulting in a linear correlation between the enthalpy and entropy values determined at different compositions. The enthalpy-entropy compensation effect was analyzed to determine whether it arises from statistical artifacts or is genuine to the system, as our findings suggest.