Polyol Process Coupled to Cold Plasma as a New and Efficient Nanohydride Processing Method: Nano-Ni₂H as a Case Study

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Physical Chemistry

Background:

• Traditional metal hydrogenation methods often require high pressures and temperatures.
• Developing efficient and accessible methods for synthesizing metal hydrides is crucial for applications like hydrogen storage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cold plasma hydrogen implantation as an alternative route for metal hydrogenation.
• To characterize the resulting nanostructure and explore its potential for hydrogen storage.

Main Methods:

• Cold plasma hydrogen implantation applied to polyol-made nickel (Ni) nanoparticles.
• Analysis using Bragg-Brentano and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction.

Main Results:

• Observed lattice re-ordering and superstructure lines in the Ni-H system.
• Synthesized hexagonal-packed Ni2H single crystals (approx. 30 nm) from cubic face-centered Ni polycrystals.
• The intermetallic structure resembles that from high-pressure hydrogenation.

Conclusions:

• Cold plasma hydrogen implantation is a viable alternative for metal hydrogenation, particularly for challenging systems like Ni-H.
• This method can generate unusual metal hydrides with potential for chemisorption hydrogen storage.
• The technique offers new opportunities for synthesizing novel nanomaterials with tailored properties.