Nano-engineered Mg-MgH2 system for solar thermal energy storage

The solar thermal energy could be stored and reused at a desired locations and conditions. The prerequisite is to develop a suitable media which could able to store the solar thermal energy reversibly. The metal-metal hydride system could be one of the option to store the thermal energy in the form of metal and hydrogen which on recombination will form metal- hydride and release the stored thermal energy with high efficiency. Besides the high hydrogen storage capacity, the ultrafast hydrogenation dehydration kinetics is desirable for the viable commercial applications. In connection to this, magnesium - magnesium hydride system has been considered as a potentials candidate. However, the sluggish hydrogenation-dehydrogenation kinetics is an issue. In the present study nano-engineered Mg-V composite has been developed using MgH2 and V2O5 as a precursor for magnesium and vanadium, respectively. The composite has shown an ultrafast hydrogenation-dehydrogenation kinetics at remarkable low temperature. The hydrogenation of composite has efficiently released the thermal energy. The hydrogenated composite could be dehydrogenated using compact solar power (CSP) even below 200 degrees C. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.