Water vapor decomposition reaction on ZrNi alloy

To develop a method for decomposing hydrogen compounds and for extracting hydrogen in only the chemical form of hydrogen molecules, a zirconium nickel (ZrNi) alloy was used to decompose water vapor. Inspection of alloy samples using X-ray diffraction spectra taken before use, midway through decomposition, and after use revealed that the ZrNi was gradually consumed and that ZrO2 and pure Ni were generated as decomposition progressed. From these results, a chemical equation for the water vapor decomposition reaction on ZrNi alloy was identified. The equation was validated by examining the relationships among the change in sample weight, the volume of water vapor decomposed, and the volume of hydrogen generated for samples removed midway through decomposition. The proposed equation explained all the experimental results quite well, and ZrNi was found to be well suited for the proposed method.