The high number of tetrahedrally coordinated sites for interstitial hydrogen and the favorable hydrogen-metal chemistry make quasicrystalline Zr-Cu-Ni-Al alloys a candidate for hydrogen storage applications. The icosahedral phase in Zr69.5Cu12Ni11Al7.5 has been shown to absorb electrochemically hydrogen up to H/M = 1.6. Only partially desorption of hydrogen was observed by TDA at about 500°C. Since hydrogen desorption seems to be hindered by a surface barrier, the hydrogen remains in the quasicrystal thus influencing their thermal stability. Such effects of hydrogen were studied by DSC and microstructural investigations. With increasing hydrogen content the decomposition of icosahedral Zr69.5. Cu12Ni11A17.5 is shifted to lower temperatures. Quasicrystals decompose by a discontinous transformation into the tetragonal Zr2Cu phase, the tetragonal Zr2Ni and the hexagonal Zr6NiAl2. Hydrogenation does not influence the phases formed during decomposition, but leds to the formation of a finer microstructure. We assume that the defects formed during the hydrogenation accelerate the nucleation of the stable crystalline phase.
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