HYDROGEN STORAGE PROPERTIES OF THE (Ti1+xV1Nb1-x)85Cr15 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, AND 0.8) MULTICOMPONENT ALLOYS PRODUCED VIA GAS SHIELDED ARC MELTING PROCESS

• Grant number: 25/01117-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 05, 2025
• End date: October 04, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Physical Metallurgy
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Zepon
• Grantee: Vinícius Aranda
• Supervisor: Zlotea Claudia
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Institut De Chimie Et Des Matériaux Paris-Est, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/06050-1 - Production of multicomponent alloys for hydrogen storage by gas shielded arc melting: A solution for production scale-up, BP.DR

Abstract

The negative climate changes caused by fossil fuels has driven the development of technologies that favor the use of low carbon emission hydrogen. Researchers are focusing on strategies to produce this energy vector in such a way that it does not compromise both industry and environment. Since hydrogen is a low-density gas, its storage is also a challenge. Metal hydrides are one of the main solutions for solid-state hydrogen storage. Multicomponent alloys and intermetallics can be designed to form metal hydrides to operate in any working condition, i.e., different pressure and temperature levels. Our research group has developed multicomponent body-centered cubic (bcc) alloys to store hydrogen at room temperature, under moderated pressures and with good reversibility. Ingots of about 5-20 g of multicomponent alloys are frequently produced in arc-melting furnaces. This process guaranties good composition homogenization and low air contamination. However, it is a time-consuming process, taking a few hours to produce a few grams of alloy. In this PhD project, the PhD candidate proposes the development of a processes route called Gas Shielded Arc Melting (GSAM), which can rapidly produce a few grams of multicomponent alloys and intermetallics for hydrogen applications in a few minutes. The GSAM process is a promising route to produce such materials on an industrial scale since it is cheap to implement and easily scalable. In this project, we are demonstrating that when GSAM process is used for producing bcc alloys for hydrogen storage, the molten alloy absorbs a fraction of N and O, yielding in the formation of some fraction of TiNxOy phase. The formation of this phase does not impact on the capacity of the alloy to absorb/desorb hydrogen, however, it changes the composition of the BCC phase and the pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) diagram of the alloy. In this BEPE project, it is proposed the investigation of the (Ti1+xV1Nb1-x)85Cr15 multicomponent alloys with x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 produced by the GSAM process using three sets of processing parameters, aiming at achieving similar hydrogen storage properties of the (TiVNb)85Cr15 alloy synthetized in arc-melting furnace. The ingots will be experimentally evaluated and structurally characterized at the ICMPE in Thiais, France, during the BEPE internship.