Researchers Create Catalysts for Use in Hydrogen Storage Materials

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.news.vcu.edu/news.aspx?v=detail&nid=2843

For immediate release:
3/24/2009
Sathya Achia Abraham
VCU Communications and Public Relations
[phone]
[e-mail]

Researchers Create Catalysts for Use in Hydrogen Storage Materials

A team of scientists from http://www.vcu.edu/">Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and the Savannah River National Laboratory have identified that carbon nanostructures can be used as catalysts to store and release hydrogen, a finding that may point researchers toward developing the right material for hydrogen storage for use in cars.

…

“Currently there are no hydrogen storage materials that meet industry requirements. Our work paves the way to design and synthesize new and improved catalysts for the dehydrogenation of complex hydrides, taking us one step closer to finding the right material for hydrogen storage,” said http://www.has.vcu.edu/phy/jenagroup/puru.htm">Puru Jena, Ph.D., distinguished professor in the http://www.has.vcu.edu/phy/jenagroup/puru.htm">VCU Department of Physics.

According to Jena, complex hydrides are a class of materials that have shown promise for the storage of hydrogen. Because complex hydrides are not reversible and removing hydrogen from them is difficult at temperatures less than 100°C, catalysts are needed to improve the reaction rates. However, previous studies indicate that the addition of catalysts creates defects in the hydrides.

…

The study appears online and in the journal Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society. The work was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl803498e">Read the article abstract here.

…