The Development Of A Fullerene Based Hydrogen Storage System PDF Download

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The project objective was to evaluate hydrogen uptake by fullerene substrates and to probe the potential of the hydrogen/fullerene system for hydrogen fuel storage. As part of this project, the authors have completed and tested a fully automated, computer controlled system for measuring hydrogen uptake that is capable of handling both a vacuum of 1 x 10−6 torr and pressures greater than 200 bars. The authors have first established conditions for significant uptake of hydrogen by fullerenes. Subsequently, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of pure and catalyst-doped C60 was further studied to probe suitability for hydrogen storage applications. C60 · H18.7 was prepared at 100 bar H2 and 400 C, corresponding to hydrogen uptake of 2.6 wt%. Dehydrogenation of C60 · H18.7 was studied using thermogravimetric and powder x-ray diffraction analysis. The C60 · H18.7 molecule was found to be stable up to 430 C in Ar, at which point the release of hydrogen took place simultaneously with the collapse of the fullerene structure. X-ray diffraction analysis performed on C60 · H18.7 samples dehydrogenated at 454 C, 475 C, and 600 C showed an increasing volume fraction of amorphous material due to randomly oriented, single-layer graphine sheets. Evolved gas analysis using gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy confirmed the presence of both H2 and methane upon dehydrogenation, indicating decomposition of the fullerene. The remaining carbon could not be re-hydrogenated. These results provide the first complete evidence for the irreversible nature of fullerene hydrogenation and for limitations imposed on the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycle by the limited thermal stability of the molecular crystal of fullerene.