Hydrogen Storage in Carbon Nanotubes
The article gives a comprehensive overview of hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures, including experimental results and theoretical calculations. Soon after the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991,
different research groups succeeded in filling carbon nanotubes with some elements, and, therefore, the question arose of filling carbon nanotubes with hydrogen by possibly using new effects such as nano-capillarity.
Subsequently, very promising experiments claiming high hydrogen storage capacities in different carbon nanostructures initiated enormous research activity. Hydrogen storage capacities have been reported
that exceed the benchmark for automotive application of 6.5 wt% set by the U.S. Department of Energy. However, the experimental data obtained with different methods for various carbon nanostructures
show an extreme scatter. Classical calculations based on physisorption of hydrogen molecules could not explain the high storage capacities measured at ambient temperature, and, assuming chemisorption of
hydrogen atoms, hydrogen release requires temperatures too high for technical applications. Up to now, only a few calculations and experiments indicate the possibility of an intermediate binding energy.
Recently, serious doubt has arisen in relation to several key experiments, causing considerable controversy. Furthermore, high hydrogen storage capacities measured for carbon nanofibers did not survive
cross-checking in different laboratories. Therefore, in light of today's knowledge, it is becoming less likely that at moderate pressures around room temperature carbon nanostructures can store the amount
of hydrogen required for automotive applications.
Keywords: CARBON FIBERS; CARBON NANOTUBES; CHEMISORPTION; HYDROGEN STORAGE; PHYSISORPTION
Document Type: Review Article
Affiliations: Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Stuttgart, Germany
Publication date: 01 February 2003
- Journal for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (JNN) is an international and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal with a wide-ranging coverage, consolidating research activities in all areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology into a single and unique reference source. JNN is the first cross-disciplinary journal to publish original full research articles, rapid communications of important new scientific and technological findings, timely state-of-the-art reviews with author's photo and short biography, and current research news encompassing the fundamental and applied research in all disciplines of science, engineering and medicine.
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