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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Reversibly Electrochemical Ethylamine/Acetonitrile Redox for Hydrogen Storage
Mengyu Lv1, Qinghui Ren2, Ye Liu1
1State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Hydrogen (H2) storage/release technology is a core aspect of achieving large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) is a promising H2 storage method owing to their high hydrogen storage capacity, safety, and transportation convenience, while suffers from the high temperature and pressures conditions during H2 storage and release. Herein, we report a water-mediated electrochemical ethylamine (EA)/acetonitrile (AN) redox system with a high theoretical H2 storage capacity (8.9 wt.%). Specifically, the storage and release systems comprise the hydrogenation of AN to EA with a selectivity of > 92% and the electrooxidation of EA back to AN with a selectivity of > 99%, respectively. Mechanism measurements indicate that H2 storage and release utilize water as the hydrogen source, demonstrating this strategy is green and safe in nature, along with its ease of operation. As a proof of concept, we employed a two-electrode flow electrolyzer for H2 storage and release, attaining 5 mmol cm-2 h-1 of H2 storage rate and 7 mmol cm-2 h-1 of H2 production rate at 1.5 A. Furthermore, we used the integration of the electrochemical conversion system with a distillation unit achieved a H2 storage density of 8.9 wt.%, providing a viable route for hydrogen storage and release.
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