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Hypothetical high-surface-area carbons with exceptional hydrogen storage capacities: open carbon frameworks
Bogdan Kuchta1, Lucyna Firlej, Ali Mohammadhosseini
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA. bogdan.kuchta@univ-amu.fr
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|August 18, 2012
Summary
New hypothetical carbon structures, called open carbon frameworks (OCFs), show record hydrogen storage capacities. These OCFs, with high surface areas and edge sites, could meet mobile application demands for hydrogen uptake.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Traditional hydrogen storage in carbons relies on parallel graphene sheets in slit pores.
- High surface area carbons are crucial for efficient gas adsorption and storage.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate novel high-surface-area carbon structures beyond traditional models.
- Explore structure-function relationships for enhanced hydrogen adsorption.
- Determine the physical limits of hydrogen adsorption in carbon-based porous materials.
Main Methods:
- Grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of molecular hydrogen adsorption.
- Development and validation of adsorbent-adsorbate interaction potentials.
- Comparison of simulated isotherms with experimental data on activated carbon.
Main Results:
- Fragmentation of graphene sheets creates open carbon frameworks (OCFs) with surface areas exceeding 2600 m²/g.
- OCFs achieved record excess adsorption (75-85 g/kg) and storage capacity (100-260 g/kg) at 77 K and 100 bar.
- Adsorption is limited in structures with low adsorption energy, suggesting avenues for further enhancement.
Conclusions:
- OCF structures offer significantly higher hydrogen storage than slit-shaped pores.
- Synthesizable OCFs could fulfill hydrogen uptake requirements for mobile applications.
- This study defines the physical limits for hydrogen adsorption in carbon materials.
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