Abstract: Mg-based hydrogen storage alloys are considered as a promising candidate for hydrogen system because of its lightweight, high storage capacity, low price and rich mineral resources. In detail, we reviewed the preparation and properties of Mg-Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys. All kinds of attempts have been done to improve the hydriding and dehydriding behaviors. It is found that the partial substitution of foreign elements can decrease the hydrogen absorption temperature, especially the substitution of a more electronegative element, such as AI and Mn. Mechanical alloying (MA) and mechanical grinding (MG) are the most effective methods to improve the hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and electrochemical capacity, and decrease the desorption temperature. but the corrosion resistance is so poor that the 80% of maximum capacity is lost within ten cycles. Microencapsulation is a useful measurement for improving the corrosion resistance and electrocatalytic activity. fn order to improve the properties of the alloys for practical application, the alloys should have a large number of defects, which give activated sites, subsequently, MA, MG and electroless plating should be used to improve the hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and protect the surface of alloys, respectively. The new composite Mg-based alloys give a new way for the hydrogen storage material to practical application. Furthermore we put forward several problems which will be discussed in future.

Key words: