Remarkable Synergistic Catalysis of Ni-Doped Ultrafine TiO2 on Hydrogen Sorption Kinetics of MgH2.

Catalysts play an extraordinarily important role in accelerating the hydrogen sorption rates in metal-hydrogen systems. Herein, we report a surprisingly synergetic enhancement of metal-metal oxide cocatalyst on the hydrogen sorption properties of MgH2: only 5 wt % doping of Ni into ultrafine TiO2 enables a significant increase in hydrogen desorption kinetics; it absorbs 4.50 wt % hydrogen even at a low temperature of 50 °C. The striking improvement is partially ascribed to the formation of a particular Ni@TiO2 core-shell structure, thereby forming versatile interfaces. This study provides insights into the way of designing high-efficiency catalysts in hydrogen storage and other energy-related fields.