The crystal structures and hydrogenation behavior of （La1-xMgx）3Al （x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4） alloys were investigated. It was found that the alloys with x = 0.1 and 0.2 consist of La（Mg,Al）, La, and a novel phase. The novel phase was determined as La2Al. It is shown that the amount of La2Al decreases as the Mg content increases. When x increases to 0.3, only La（Mg,Al） and a small amount of La2Al exist. When x is 0.4, La2Al phase disappears and the alloy contains both La（Mg,Al） and La（Al,Mg）2 Laves phase. The （Lao.9MgoA）3Al and （La0.TMg0.3）3Al alloys can be decomposed into LaH3, MgH2, and La2Al5 by the absorption of hydrogen at 473 K.
The effect of the partial substitution of Mg by A1 on the crystal structure of La2Mg17 has been investigated. It was found that the LaEMgl7 phase disappears after the partial substitution of Mg by Al. The LaE（Mgo.gAl0.1）17 alloy contains La（Mg,AI）12 and La（Mg,Al）2. Further increasing the Al content, the La2（Mg0.8Al0.2）17 alloy consists of La（Mg,Al）12, La（Mg,Al）2, and Mg. The La（Mg0.93Al0.07）12 phase in the La2（Mg0.9Al0.1）17 alloy crystallizes with the ThMn12-type structure in space group 14/mmm （No. 139）. The lattice parameters were determined to be a = 1.03246（7） nm and c = 0.59410（6） nm. In the ThMn12-type structure, AI atoms occupy 8f site but the A1 content is limited. Moreover, the hydrogenation character- istics have also been compared. La2Mgl7 decomposes into LaH3 and MgH2 under hydrogen, but the La（Mgo.93Alo.o7）12 phase can be hydrogenated into LaH3, MgH2, and La3Al11 at 473 K.
La（Mg1-xAlx） （x=0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8） alloys have been prepared using induction melting followed by annealing. It is found that partial substitution of Mg by Al does not lead to a change in crystal structure, and the alloys have a single LaMg phase when x 〈 0.4. The lattice parameter of the LaMg phase decreases obviously after the partial substitution of Mg by Al. However, further substitution of Mg by Al leads to the coexistence of multiple phases when x ≥ 0.6. The alloys consist of the LaMg, LaAl, LaAl2, and La5Al4 phases. The LaMg phase decreases, whereas the La5Al4 phase increases with the increase in x. The Al-substituted La（Mgo.6Al0.4） alloy can be hydrogenated into the tetragonal LaH3, cubic LaH3, MgH2, and LaPd under 5 MPa at 473 K for 5 d.
