INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, v.45, no.57, pp.32797 - 32807
Abstract
The anticipated energy crisis due to the extensive use of limited stock fossil fuels forces the scientific society for find prompt solution for commercialization of hydrogen as a clean source of energy. Hence, convenient and efficient solid-state hydrogen storage adsorbents are required. Additionally, the safe commercialization of huge reservoir natural gas (CH4) as an on-board vehicle fuel and alternative to gasoline due to its environmentally friendly combustion is also a vital issue. To this end, in this study we report facile synthesis of polymer-based composites for H-2 and CH4 uptake. The cross-linked polymer and its porous composites with activated carbon were developed through in-situ synthesis method. The mass loadings of activated carbon were varied from 7 to 20 wt%. The developed hybrid porous composites achieved high specific surface area (SSA) of 1420 m(2)/g and total pore volume (TPV) of 0.932 cm(3)/g as compared to 695 m(2)/g and 0.857 cm(3)/g for pristine porous polymer. Additionally, the porous composite was activated converted to a highly porous carbon material achieving SSA and TPV of 2679 m(2)/g and 1.335 cm(3)/g, respectively. The H-2 adsorption for all developed porous materials was studied at 77 and 298 K and 20 bar achieving excess uptake of 4.4 wt% and 0.17 wt% respectively, which is comparable to the highest reported value for porous carbon. Furthermore, the developed porous materials achieved CH4 uptake of 8.15 mmol/g at 298 K and 20 bar which is also among the top reported values for porous carbon. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.