Abstract
The influence of Nb2O5 nanoparticles (15 nm) as an additive for mechanical milling on the hydrogen sorption kinetics of MgH2 was investigated. By using nanometric Nb2O5, a significant reduction of milling time (200 times shorter) with a decrease of desorption temperature by 60 °C were observed in comparison to its micrometric form. X-ray diffraction and hydrogen sorption measurements led to the proposal of two possible mechanisms for the hydrogen sorption based on an intimate contact between MgH2 and Nb2O5.