Magnesium-based hydrogen storage compounds: A review

One of the key points to boost the application of fuel cells is the progress in the development of hydrogen storage alloys with appealing high capacity. Of the numerous candidate alloys for storing hydrogen, magnesium (Mg)-based alloys have been progressively attracting great attention owing to their abundance, low densities, and considerable capacities of hydrogen storage. Nevertheless, the practical applications of Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys are still seriously hampered by their sluggish kinetics and relative stable thermodynamic characteristics. At present, some strategies have been utilizing to tune the hydrogen storage properties of Mg-based alloys, but they are still insufficient to fulfill the requirements for practical industrial applications. In this review, advanced synthetic approaches and some effective strategies including alloying, nanostructuring, doping by catalytic additives and forming nanocomposites with other hydrides, etc., to enhance the requirements properties of Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys are summarized, and then the prospects for further promoting the properties of Mg-based hydrogen storage materials are also briefly discussed.