Zeolite-templated carbon materials for high-pressure hydrogen storage

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Developing advanced materials for efficient hydrogen storage is crucial for the hydrogen economy.
• Zeolite-templated carbons (ZTCs) offer unique nanostructured properties for gas adsorption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize ZTCs for their potential as hydrogen storage materials.
• To evaluate the hydrogen adsorption performance of ZTCs under varying temperatures and pressures.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of ZTCs with high template fidelity.
• Characterization using X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K.
• Hydrogen adsorption measurements between 77 K and 298 K up to 30 MPa.

Main Results:

• Achieved high BET surface areas up to ~3600 m(2) g(-1) in synthesized ZTCs.
• ZTCs demonstrated higher equilibrium hydrogen adsorption capacity than superactivated carbon MSC-30.
• Maximum Gibbs surface excess uptake of 28.6 mmol g(-1) (5.5 wt %) at 77 K.
• Hydrogen uptake at 300 K showed linear proportionality to BET surface area (2.3 mmol g(-1) per 1000 m(2) g(-1) at 30 MPa).

Conclusions:

• ZTCs exhibit excellent hydrogen storage capabilities, outperforming existing materials.
• The adsorption behavior at high pressures follows trends similar to other carbons, despite ZTCs' unique structure.
• Calculated isoexcess enthalpies of adsorption suggest favorable interactions for hydrogen storage.