Preparation and Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage Capacity of Nanoporous Carbon Materials Synthesized using an Aerosol-Assisted Approach

Spherical nanoporous carbon particles were synthesized from carbon precursor solutions of sucrose with either silica sols, colloidal silica particles, or both, in a direct one-step aerosol-assisted process, followed by carbonization and then removal of the silica template. The resulting particles show very high porosity with narrow pore size distributions, surface areas up to 2000~m$^{2}$/g, and pore volumes up to 4.0~cm$^{3}$/g. The porosity and pore sizes depend on the type and amount of silica template precursor added to the sucrose precursor solutions. The carbon particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and nitrogen sorption surface area measurements. Hydrogen adsorption was measured at various temperatures between 77 K and room temperature and at pressures up to 50 bars. The maximum hydrogen uptake of up to 4.0~wt{\%} at 77~K and $>$20~bar was found for nanoporous carbon particles made using the silica sol template.