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Supercritical Nitrogen Processing for the Purification of Reactive Porous Materials
Published on: May 15, 2015
Surface-hydrogenation activity regulation toward robust anti-poisoning of ZrCo-based hydrogen isotope storage
Qianwen Zhou1, Yiting Yu1, Panpan Zhou1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 Zhejiang China lxchen@zju.edu.cn xlfan@zju.edu.cn.
Abstract:
The ZrCo alloy is promising for hydrogen isotope storage but suffers from severe CO poisoning due to d-orbital back-donation into CO π* orbitals, leading to strong chemisorption that blocks subsequent hydrogen dissociation. To address this, we conceptualize a surface-hydrogenation activity factor as a descriptor for screening doping elements. This factor integrates key surface chemical parameters, including local lattice distortion, CO adsorption behavior, and the hydrogen dissociation energy barrier. Guided by η, we designed and synthesized a single-phase ZrCo0.97V0.03 alloy. Compared with pristine ZrCo, it exhibits a threefold enhancement in hydrogenation kinetics in a H2 + CO mixed-gas atmosphere. Mechanistically, V-induced localized tensile strain elevates the surface potential and modulates charge transfer, lowering the H2 dissociation barrier in the presence of CO. Consequently, the ZrCo0.97V0.03 alloy maintains superior hydrogenation kinetics and cycling stability (80.1% retention) after 25 cycles in a mixed gas, validating the η-based design strategy. This work establishes a surface-chemistry-guided approach linking dopant-induced structural modulation to poisoning-tolerant hydrogen storage performance.
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