A hydrogen adsorbing PUR/Pd nanocomposite nanofibrous membrane prepared by electrospinning technology

Abstract

Hydrogen-capturing membranes under standard atmospheric conditions have been prepared based on polyurethane (PUR) nanofibers modified by using Pd nanoparticles. Hydrogen sorption capacity achieved at room temperature and a pressure of 1 bar is 207.7 ml g⁻¹ (1.9 wt%) and at 4 bar, it is 1173.3 ml g⁻¹ (10.6 wt%), measured by the standard Pressure Decay (PD) method. An original method, the dynamic Gas Chromatography (dGC) method, has been developed for H₂ sorption tests simulating conditions in a gas mixture stream. The comparison of both types of sorption tests is useful for practical use in selectively capturing H₂ under real conditions. Desorption tests performed by the dGC method confirmed the reasonable stability of the content of captured hydrogen in the membrane at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure. The membrane is self-supporting and air-permeable, allowing easy design of the functional unit.