Structural and electrochemical properties of amorphous rich MgxNi100−x nanomaterial obtained by mechanical alloying

Abstract Using a planetary ball mill and starting from a mixture of Mg 2 Ni and Ni with a Mg atomic content ranging from 40 to 60 at.%, we have elaborated amorphous phase alloys with little quantities of residual Ni. The synthesis of the amorphous phase proceeded at 6.49 W g −1 shock power, for milling durations ranging from 8 to 10 h for Mg 40 Ni 60 and Mg 60 Ni 40 samples, respectively. The best electrochemical capacity (470 mAh g −1 , equivalent of MgNiH 2.0 ) was obtained for the Mg 50 Ni 50 sample synthesized in milling duration 10 times shorter than that commonly reported in the literature.