The reversible physisorption of hydrogen on porous solid state materials offers one method for storing hydrogen; however, scientists are still searching for ways to maximise the surface area and thereby increase the storage capacity.
In an effort to address this problem a microporous carbon material with an unusually high hydrogen storage capacity has been created by scientists at the University of Nottingham, UK. The material is synthesised using a commercially available zeolitic imidazolate framework as a hard template. The pores of the ZIF are filled with furfuryl alcohol before polymerization and then carbonization to remove the template and leave behind a microporous carbon material. In a final step the carbon is then activated with KOH, which leads to a significant enlargement of surface area.
The microporous nature gives the material a high hydrogen storage density in the range 13.0–15.5 μmol H2 m−2, which the team say is much higher than most high surface area activated carbons.
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