Novel H2 Sorption Measurements of Nanostructured Materials

To expeditiously develop nanostructured materials with high hydrogen sorption capacities, a novel volumetric measurement apparatus was designed and constructed that is suitable for rapid analysis of the small samples (milligram) typically available in the laboratory. The instrument enables both low temperature (down to $\sim $12K) volumetric measurements and high temperature (up to 1300K) sample processing without the need for sample transfers. The instrument has been used to study the hydrogen sorption behavior of chemically and thermally processed raw and purified nanostructured materials (e.g. nanotubes, activated carbons, polymers, aerogels). Hydrogen sorption, specific surface area, and binding energy results for different samples will be reported. The goal of these activities is to engineer hydrogen sorption materials that can ultimately meet the DOE's targets for vehicular fuel cell applications. Funding for this effort provided by the DOE's EERE Hydrogen Program within the Center of Excellence on Carbon-based Hydrogen Storage Materials, and by the Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering under subcontract DE-AC36-99GO10337 to NREL.