La15Fe77B8hydrogenstoragealloyswerepreparedusingavacuuminduction-quenchingfurnace.TheresultsofX-raydiffraction(XRD)andscanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM)suggestedthatLa15–xSmxFe2Ni76Mn5B2(x=0,2,4,6)alloyshadmultiphasestructureincludingthemainLaNi5phase,La3Ni13B2phaseand(Fe,Ni)phase.WiththeincreasingsubstitutionofSmforLa,themainphasestructureofalloysdidnotchange,whiletheunitcellvolumesdecreased,thecyclestabilitywasimprovedandthemaximumdischargecapacitydecreased,butthelowtemperaturemaximumdischargecapacityofthesamesubstitutionalloywasgraduallyapproachingthemaximumdischargecapacityatroomtemperature,whichshowedthatLa15Fe77B8hydrogenstoragealloysofthepartialsubstitutionofSmforLahadbetterlow-temperaturedischargeability(LTD).Forthesamesubstitutionalloys,self-dischargecharacteristicsandcyclestabilityatlowtemperaturewerebetterthanthatatroomtemperature.Furthermore,thehigh-ratedischargeability(HRD)andtheexchangecurrentdensityI0firstincreasedandthendecreasedwiththeincreasingofSmcontent,whereasthehydrogendiffusioncoefficientDinalloybulkdecreasedgradually,whichindicatedthatappropriatesubstitutionofSmforLaimprovedtheelectrochemicalkineticspropertiesofthealloys.TheHRDwasmainlydominatedbythecharge-transferrateonthealloysurface.
