Hydrogen energy, as a new kind of clean energy, is getting increasingly important in the energy crisis in recent decades. Nanoalloys show great foreground because of their extraordinary properties in different fields of subjects. The hydrogen storage nanoalloys have been regarded as one of the most important hydrogen storage materials. In this review, we introduce the principle of the hydrogen storage nanoalloys and properties of different kinds of hydrogen storage materials, which offer guidance from the point of view of thermodynamics and kinetics. Three methods to improve the hydrogen storage are discussed, namely alloying, non-crystallizing, and nanocrystallization. Then several preparation methods of hydrogen storage nanoalloys are reviewed with brief introduction of their advantages and disadvantages, where we pay more attention to the three methods, i.e., the mechanical disintegration/alloying, gaseous coacervation and cluster beam deposition. Furthermore, the factors affecting the properties of hydrogen storage alloy, such as structure, component and size, are discussed. In the end, we prospect the future of hydrogen storage materials. Contents
1 Introduction
2 Principle of hydrogen storage nanoalloys
3 Properties of different kinds of hydrogen storage materials
4 Methods to improve the hydrogen storage
4.1 Alloying
4.2 Non-crystallizing
4.3 Nanocrystallization
5 Preparation methods
5.1 Mechanical disintegration/alloying method
5.2 Gaseous coacervation method
5.3 Cluster beam deposition method
5.4 Preparation of composite alloys
5.5 Other methods
6 Factors affecting hydrogen storage
6.1 Structure
6.2 Component
7 Conclusions and outlook