The core of iridium protects the palladium nanoparticles. They can accumulate hydrogen on their surface and be released again by heating. Desy and Stierle were credited.
An innovative approach could make nanoparticles simple to store hydrogen. The highly volatile gas is considered a promising energy carrier for the future, which could provide climate-friendly fuels for airplanes, ships and trucks, for example, as well as allowing climate-friendly steel and cement production, depending on how the hydrogen gas is generated. The cost of storing hydrogen is either kept in pressurized tanks at up to 700 bar or it must be liquified and cooled down to minus 253 degrees Celsius. The procedures consume more energy.
A team led byDESY's Andreas Stierle has laid the groundwork for an alternative method of storing hydrogen in tiny particles of precious metal. It has been known for a long time that palladium can absorb hydrogen. Stierle says that getting the hydrogen out of the material again has posed a problem. We are trying to find particles that are one nanometer across. A millionth of a millimeter is a nanometer.
The tiny particles are stable by a core made of rare precious metal iridium. They are attached to a support made of carbon. Stierle, the head of the DESY NanoLab, reported that they were able to attach the palladium particles to the Graphene at intervals of just two and a half nanometers. This results in a regular structure. The team, which also includes researchers from the Universities of Cologne and Hamburg, published their findings in a journal.
When the hydrogen sticks to the particles' surfaces, it's because they have hardly any of it penetrating inside. The Iridium nut at the center of the nanoparticles is covered in a layer of palladium, which is chocolate-coated on the outside by the hydrogen. It takes a small amount of heat to get the hydrogen out of the particles, and it's not hard to do because the gas doesn't have to push their way out from inside the cluster.
Stierle wants to find out what storage densities can be achieved using this new method. Some challenges need to be overcome before practical applications can be applied. The experts are considering using carbon sponges, which have tiny pores, as a more suitable carrier. There should be a lot of palladium inside.
This and other innovative concepts for the hydrogen economy and a sustainable energy supply are explored in the latest issue of DESY's research magazine. The magazine explains how fundamental research can help with the energy transition. This is not only about using hydrogen as an energy carrier, but also about sustainable solar cells and novel forms of energy generation, as well as achieving greater energy efficiency in research itself, when operating large particle accelerators.
Dirk Franz and his team have information on hydrogen sulibility and atomic structure of graphene supported pdnanoclusters. The book is titled "acsnano.1c01997."
The journal has information about the ACS Nano.
The team proposes 'nano-chocolates' as a new way to store hydrogen.
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