MgH2 nanoparticles confined in reduced graphene oxide pillared with organosilica: a novel type of hydrogen storage material

Abstract

Hydrogen is a promising alternative fuel that can push forward the energy transition because of its high energy density (142 MJ kg-1); variety of potential sources, low weight and low environmental impact, but its storage for automotive applications remains a formidable scientific challenge. MgH2, with its high gravimetric and volumetric density, presents a compelling platform for hydrogen storage; however, its utilization is hindered by the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen uptake/release and high temperature operation. Herein we show that a novel layered heterostructure of reduced graphene oxide and organosilica with high specific surface area and narrow pore size distribution can serve as a scaffold to host MgH2 nanoparticles with a narrow diameter distribution around ~2.5 nm with much more appealing hydrogen storage properties than bulk MgH2. Studies of hydrogen desorption properties showed that hydrogen release starts at relatively low temperature, with a maximum at 348 oC and kinetics dependent on the particle size. Reversibility tests demonstrate that the dehydrogenation kinetics and re-hydrogenation capacity of the system remains stable at 1.62 wt.% over four cycles at 200 oC. Our results prove that confinement of metal hydride in a nanoporous scaffold is an efficient way to constrain the size of the hydride particles, avoid aggregation and improve kinetics for hydrogen release and recharging.