Materials that can conduct negatively charged hydrogen atoms in ambient conditions would pave the way for advanced clean energy storage and electrochemical conversion technologies.
The DICP research team targeted the structure and morphology of trihydrides — hyrdrides containing three atoms of hydrogen per molecule — of certain rare earth elements , including Lanthanum . The researchers effectively suppressed electron conduction of LaHx by decreasing the particle size and distorting the lattice via high-energy ball milling, which involves subjecting the material to high-energy collisions. With fast Hconduction and a high ion transfer number, the deformed LaHx material would enable a hydride ion battery to operate at room temperature or lower.