Thickness effects in hydrogen sorption of magnesium/palladium thin films


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Metalurji ve Malzeme Mühendisliği Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2012

Öğrenci: AYSHE GHAREMESHG GHARAVİ

Danışman: TAYFUR ÖZTÜRK

Özet:

Magnesium (Mg) thin films with various thicknesses ranging from 50 to 1000 nm capped with nominally 20 nm Palladium (Pd) were prepared by a thermal evaporation unit. A total of 25 glass substrates were used in each experiment. The unit had a rotatable macro shutter, rectangular in shape, rotation axes opposite to the Mg source, which allowed controlled exposure of the substrates. Thin films of 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800 nm and 1000 nm were produced in a single experiment. Hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of the films were examined using a gas loading chamber which allowed in-situ resistance measurement. Samples were hydrogenated isochronally up to 453 K with a heating rate of 1.5 K/min. Samples cooled to room temperature were subjected to dehydrogenation test. The chamber was taken under vacuum (~10-2 mbar) and the sample was heated up to 453 K at a rate of 1.5 K/min. The results showed that the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation temperatures correlate with the film thickness, thinner films reacting with hydrogen at low temperatures. While 200 nm thin film hydrogenated at 420 K and desorbed it at 423 K, 50 nm thin film hydrogenated at room temperature and desorbed it at 405 K. Thicker films needed higher temperatures to react with hydrogen. It is concluded that films thinner than 200 nm react fully with hydrogen; while a considerable portion of the thicker films remain unreacted. Significance of this is discussed with reference to the design of hydrogen storage systems based on thin films or nanoparticles.