Co-P （4.9% P） powders with a chain-like morphology were prepared by a novel chemical reduction method. The Co-P and germanium powders were mixed at various mass ratios to form Co-P composite electrodes. Charge and discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS） were carried out to investigate the electrochemical performance, which can be significantly improved by the addition of germanium. For instance, when the mass ratio of Co-P powders to germanium is 5：1, the sample electrode shows a reversible discharge capacity of 350.3 mA·h/g and a high capacity retention rate of 95.9% after 50 cycles. The results of cyclic voltammmetry （CV） show the reaction mechanism of Co/Co（OH）2 within Co-P composite electrodes and EIS indicates that this electrode shows a low charge-transfer resistance, facilitating the oxidation of Co to Co（OH）2.
Amorphous Ti2?xMgxNi (x=0?0.3) alloys were prepared by mechanical milling of elemental powders. Charge and discharge test, linear polarization (LP) and potential-step measurement were carried out to investigate the electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the alloys before and after heat treatment. The results show that the maximum discharge capacity of heat-treated Ti2?xMgxNi alloy can reach 275.3 mA·h/g, which is 100 mA·h/g higher than that of the amorphous Ti2?xMgxNi alloy. The heat-treated Ti1.9Mg0.1Ni alloy presents the best cycling stability with a high discharge capacity of 210 mA·h/g after 30 cycles. The results of LP and potential-step measurement of the Ti1.9Mg0.1Ni alloy show that the exchange current density increases from 101.1 to 203.3 mA/g and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient increases from 3.20×10?11 to 2.70×10?10 cm2/s after the heat treatment, indicating that the heat treatment facilitates both the charge-transfer and hydrogen diffusion processes, resulting in an improvement in electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of Ti2?xMgxNi (x=0?0.3) alloys.
