The dehydrogenated microstructure of the lithium borohydride-yttrium hydride (LiBH4-YH3) composite obtained at 350°C under 0.3 MPa of hydrogen and static vacuum was investigated by transmission electron microscopy combined with a focused ion beam technique. The dehydrogenation reaction between LiBH4 and YH3 into LiH and YB4 takes place under 0.3 MPa of hydrogen, which produces YB4 nano-crystallites that are uniformly distributed in the LiH matrix. This microstructural feature seems to be beneficial for rehydrogenation of the dehydrogenation products. On the other hand, the dehydrogenation process is incomplete under static vacuum, leading to the unreacted microstructure, where YH3 and YH2 crystallites are embedded in LiBH4 matrix. High resolution imaging confirmed the presence of crystalline B resulting from the self-decomposition of LiBH4. However, Li2B12H12, which is assumed to be present in the LiBH4 matrix, was not clearly observed.

The microstructural analysis of the dehydrogenation products of the Ca(BH4)2–MgH2 composite was performed using transmission electron microscopy. It was found that nanocrystalline CaB6 crystallites formed as a dehydrogenation product throughout the areas where the signals of Ca and Mg were simultaneously detected, in addition to relatively coarse Mg crystallites. The uniform distribution of the nanocrystalline CaB6 crystallites appears to play a key role in the rehydrogenation of the dehydrogenation products, which implies that microstructure is a crucial factor determining the reversibility of reactive hydride composites.

Second nearest-neighbor modified embedded-atom method (MEAM) interatomic potentials for the Al–H and Ni–H binary systems have been developed on the basis of previously developed MEAM potentials of pure Al, Ni, and H. The potentials can describe various fundamental physical properties of the relevant binary alloys (structural, thermodynamic, defect, and dynamic properties of metastable hydrides or hydrogen in face-centered cubic solid solutions) in good agreement with experiments or first-principles calculations. The applicability of the present potentials to atomic level investigations of dynamic behavior of hydrogen atoms in metal membranes is also discussed.

The interaction of a gliding screw dislocation with stacking fault tetrahedron (SFT) in face-centered cubic (fcc) copper (Cu) was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Upon intersection, the screw dislocation spontaneously cross slips on the SFT face. One of the cross-slipped Shockley partials glides toward the SFT base, partially absorbing the SFT. At low applied stress, partial absorption produces a superjog, with detachment of the trailing Shockley partial via an Orowan process. This leaves a small perfect SFT and a truncated base behind, which subsequently form a sheared SFT with a pair of opposite sense ledges. At higher applied shear stress, the ledges can self-heal by gliding toward an SFT apex and transform the sheared SFT into a perfect SFT. However, complete absorption or collapse of an SFT (or sheared SFT) by a moving screw dislocation is not observed. These observations provide insights into defect-free channel formation in deformed irradiated Cu.

A semi-empirical interatomic potential of the Ni–W system was developed using a modified embedded-atom method (MEAM) formalism including second-nearest-neighbor interactions. The cross potential was determined by fitting physical properties of tetragonal Ni4W available in the literature. The MEAM potential was used to predict phase stabilities, lattice constants, and bulk moduli of nonequilibrium and equilibrium phases in the Ni–W system. The results were in good agreement with experimental information or first-principles calculation.

The phase separation behavior in a Cu–Co nanoparticle was investigated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The modified embedded atom method (MEAM) was adopted to describe the interatomic potentials for the Cu–Co alloy system. Some of the cross potential parameters were fitted with experimental data such as mixing enthalpy and lattice constants of Cu–Co alloys. The present MC simulation combined with the MEAM potential describes well the phase separation between face-centered-cubic (fcc) Cu and fcc Co during the annealing of the particle.