Storage of Hydrogen in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Pores of molecular dimensions can adsorb large quantities of gases owing to the enhanced density of the adsorbed material inside the pores, a consequence of the attractive potential of the pore walls. Pederson and Broughton have suggested that carbon nanotubes, which have diameters of typically a few nanometres, should be able to draw up liquids by capillarity, and this effect has been seen for low-surface-tension liquids in large-diameter, multi-walled nanotubes. Here we show that a gas can condense to high density inside narrow, single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs). Temperature-programmed desorption spectroscopy shows that hydrogen will condense inside SWNTs under conditions that do not induce adsorption within a standard mesoporous activated carbon. The very high hydrogen uptake in these materials suggests that they might be effective as a hydrogen-storage material for fuel-cell electric vehicles.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 915262
- Journal Information:
- Nature (Letters), Journal Name: Nature (Letters) Journal Issue: 27 March 1997 Vol. 386
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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