Nanotechnology Can Lead the Way in Hydrogen Storage

9 April 2007

Nanotechnology is being considered as an efficient mechanism for the storage of hydrogen. Devices such as Nanotubes, Nanofibers and Nanocones are viable storage mechanisms, according to a team of researchers who are exploring more effective ways to contain greater quantities of hydrogen at lower pressure and with less dilution of the hydrogen content.

Hydrogen accumulators have been used in the past, but presently these devices are incapable of containing large enough amounts of hydrogen that would make them practicable for large scale industrial deployment. Hydrogen is usually stored in a liquid state, in a mixture of zeolite minerals, but the amount of hydrogen in the solution is minimal, no more than six percent.

Nanostructures, conversely, can store hydrogen at weight ratios of five to seven percent. Researchers believe that even better results can be achieved by exploring Nanostructures such as fullerenes and carbonic structures. Temperature and pressure, it was found, have a direct bearing on the amount of hydrogen that can be stored in these structures.

At a temperature of 60 degress Kelvin and a pressure of ten megapascals, the results were 13.61 percent. At a temperature of 77 degrees Kelvin and ten megapascals, the results were 6.6 percent. Carbonic structures held a distinct advantage over fullerenes in retaining additional hydrogen because of their unique physical structure.

Ultimately, a Nano-enabled storage mechanism for hydrogen will pave the way for wide scale deployment of hydrogen-powered applications.

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