The Moscow Polytechnic Institute’s scientists used the hydride-calcium approach to create an alloy of chemically active metals for the first time. Such particles are very capable of absorbing and holding onto hydrogen, used for hydrogen storage.
The hydrogen transport tank is given an alloy addition that absorbs hydrogen and dissolves it internally. For instance, heating this powder to a specific temperature is required to transform hydrogen back into a gas. The Polytechnic University’s publicity office released this information.
The alloy has a wide range of uses, including those in nuclear energy, metallurgy, the chemical industry, and the car industry. The process makes it possible to obtain a diversity of materials because of the unique mechanism of synthesis.
According to representatives of the Polytechnic University, calcium here reduces the majority of the oxides of industrially significant metals. For instance, it is simple to convert the calcium oxides of tantalum and chromium to pure metals. Additionally, they interact with one another, creating an alloy from which, for instance, hydrogen transport cylinders are produced.
Classical metallurgy is an extremely costly and technically challenging procedure for creating refractory alloys of chemically active metals.
Researchers at the Moscow Polytechnic University are creating powder metallurgy, specifically the hydride-calcium technique, as an alternative technology. Its main benefit is the use of inexpensive oxides as basic components. Additionally, the manufacturing chain is substantially simplified because different materials can be obtained from ore to finished products in a single cycle of heat treatment.
“We employ the oxides of the metals whose alloys we need, and we already form the desired composition via heat treatment in the form of a powder. If we need to create a compact billet, synthetic powders can greatly speed up surface processes like metal sintering or gas absorption “said Sergey Yudin, Ph.D., assistant professor, and project manager for the hydride-calcium method of producing chemically active metal alloys.
A high-entropy alloy made up of five elements collected in the same atomic concentrations was created for the first time using the calcium hydride process as part of research at the Moscow Polytechnic University. Up until now, a mechanical alloy and metal mixture have been created. This condition must be reached when the metals combine to create an alloy since only in this situation does its absorption capacity rise. The goal is to create a powder that can absorb 19 liters of hydrogen for every 100 grams of it. The ability to absorb 12 liters was now possible.
