Oxygen and Hydrogen Reaction “In situ” with Magnesium and Tantalum in a Mechanical Milling System When a Solvent is Used

The purpose of this paper is study the preparation “in situ” of magnesium–tantalum phases when reacted with oxygen and hydrogen during a mechanical milling process. Different phases were formed as function of the milling time. High energy ball milling was utilized to prepare hydrogenated compounds by controling the milling between 5 and 20 hours with a ball powder weight ratio of 10 and using methanol as the control agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the compounds. The XRD results at 20 h of milling revealed that only hydrogenated species (Ta2H and TaH0.5) and Mg(OH)2 were present.