57Fe Mössbauer investigation of the ternary hydride Pd3FeHx

Ordered alloys of Pd₃Fe are shown to readily absorbe hydrogen through electrolytic loading. The resultant ternary hydride phase is observed to retain the fcc structure of Pd₃Fe with approximately the same lattice constant. The ⁵⁷Fe hyperfine field determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy is found to be 30% smaller in the hydride compared to Pd₃Fe. The reduction appears to be associated with a perturbation of the Pd moment by hydrogen. The results suggest the occupation of one type of interstitial site in the structure. The absence of the site in disordered Pd₃Fe would explain the much smaller hydrogen capacity observed for this alloy.