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From size effects to functional hydrogen stores | FBK Seminar

Storing hydrogen in materials is based on the observation that metals can reversibly absorb hydrogen, however practical application of such a finding is found to be rather challenging especially for vehicular applications. The ideal material should reversibly store a significant amount of hydrogen under moderate conditions of pressures and temperatures. To date, such a material does not exist, and the high expectations of achieving the scientific discovery of a suitable material simultaneously with engineering innovations are out of reach. Of course, major breakthroughs have been achieved in the field, but the most promising materials still bind hydrogen too strongly and often suffer from poor hydrogen kinetics and/or lack of reversibility. Clearly, new approaches have to be explored, and the knowledge gained with high-energy ball milling needs to be exploited, i.e. size does matter!

Herein, progress made toward the practical use of hydrides as a hydrogen store and the barriers still remaining are reviewed. In this context, the new approach of tailoring the properties of hydrides through size restriction at the nanoscale is discussed.1 Such an approach already shows great promise in leading to further breakthroughs because both thermodynamics and kinetics can be effectively controlled at molecular levels. The effects of size restriction on the storage properties of magnesium and other complex hydride such as LiBH4 would be discussed3 as well as potential strategies to design practical store based on these nanosized hydrides.

Prof Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou 
Materials Energy Research Laboratory in Nanoscale, School of Chemical Engineering
The University of New South Wales | Sydney, Australia

FBK, FPMS Research Unit
Trento, Italy
Research topics: