Manufacture of hydrogen storage equipment at room temperature

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States have found a new, less expensive way of storing volatile gases at room temperature in carbon materials.

Hydro gas has long been considered a promising alternative to fossil fuels, providing energy for cars, trucks and even households. But one major obstacle is not finding a lightweight, durable and inexpensive material that can store very light tiny hydrogen atoms that can easily escape from its container.

However, according to new research results from scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States, and colleagues: a class of materials is considered a promising candidate for storage. Hydrogen atoms are: activated carbon combined with platinum catalysts, so hydrogen atoms can be directly linked to the surface of carbon particles and then removed for use when needed. Such a storage device is more economical than the hydrogen gas storage technology currently in use: Hydrogen gas liquefaction methods require a complex system of storage devices, consuming energy and materials. Dedicated insulation to maintain a negative temperature of 423 degrees Fahrenheit, or to store hydrogen gas under high pressure, requiring liquid hydrogenated gas storage materials to be strong enough to withstand pressures of up to 5,000 to 10,000 pounds. per square inch (psi).

Storage of hydrogen with a porous, sponge-like material, such as a metal hydride or activated carbon makes it possible to use under normal pressure conditions of the surrounding environment and room temperature, or in tanks, resulting in cheaper and safer costs.

The difficult part of designing such devices is finding a secure storage medium to keep: hydrogen atoms tight enough so they don't leak, but not too tight to take use when necessary.

According to researcher Sow-Hsin Chen, who works at MIT, the author of an article describing the new method explains: "You have to be able to store hydrogen gas (at room temperature), and easily reduce pressure. force to take it when you need it ".

Professor Sow-Hsin Chen and Dr. Yun Liu

A storage device like this could be the key to making hydrogen-powered cars practical and cost-effective, and this is an important research goal of the US Department of Energy ( DoE). Hydrogen fuel can be extracted from water (H2O), the fuel will then be "burned without any emissions except steam" .

Currently, a method has been demonstrated by a research team led by Chen professor emeritus at the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States and Dr. Yun Liu alumni currently working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Delaware, USA and researchers at the Taiwan Nuclear Energy Research Institute (including lead author Cheng-Si Tsao, Visiting scientist at MIT worked with Chen for a year), National Tsinghua University in Taiwan and Pennsylvania State University in the United States.

The results of this study have been published online in Physical Chemistry Letters.

The team analyzed the hydrogen storage capacity of activated carbon using a technique called inelastic scattering neutrons, according to the researchers this is the only technique capable of determining: whether that the stored hydrogen sample is single hydrogen atoms or H ₂ molecules. This approach also helps to assess the interaction of hydrogen with storage materials.

Using this method, they were able to provide compelling evidence, for the first time, hydrogen gas was stored in a cheap new device as a result of a phenomenon called spillover effect, in which Hydrogen particles are due to the presence of platinum particles as a catalyst - separating hydrogen molecules and diffusing them to the carbon surface. Many other researchers have suspected that the ripple effect has been involved in the process, but they have not been able to prove their doubts to be accurate. "Although this concept has been proposed, there has been a lot of debate about it in the community," Liu said.

The new analytical method helps refine the properties of activated carbon materials to increase its storage capacity, Chen said. It is important to find the optimal size and concentration for platinum and carbon particles, he added. Finally, the researchers also hope to find a new catalyst that is more efficient and less expensive than platinum.

This storage system is adjusted once to achieve the desired capacity, capable of storing hydrogen under moderate pressure (maybe about 500 psi), then the required hydrogen gas emissions are simply How to release pressure, Chen said. "When you break down hydrogen molecules into atoms' by using the spillover effect, hydrogen gas atoms bind to the material that contains it with the energy to break the bond less, so you can reduce it. The pressure to take hydrogen gas atoms is easy when needed, " Chen added.

Ralph Yang, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, USA, who was not involved in the study, said the team was able to show direct evidence of significant amounts of hydrogen moving from Platinum nanoparticles poured into carbon substrates at room temperature, something that other researchers could not prove. Yang added, "The results of this study are a very important foundation for the development of future wages" of hydrogen storage devices at room temperature.