Nanostructured Polymeric Materials for
Hydrogen Storage
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Hydrogen molecules (green spheres) are absorbed inside of layered
polymeric storage material. |
On-board hydrogen storage is critical to the development of future
transportation technologies, such as H2-powered fuel cell vehicles, in the new
hydrogen-based economy. To be practical, the 2010 performance targets of the
hydrogen storage system set by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) include a
gravimetric capacity of at least 0.06 kg H2/kg and a volumetric capacity of
0.045 kg H2/L at ambient temperature. Furthermore, the adsorbent cost must be
less than $4/kWh. No current technology meets these goals. At Argonne National
Laboratory, we are developing nanostructured polymeric materials as the
non-dissociative hydrogen adsorbents for the transportation application. The
successful outcome of this research could lead to a low-cost, high-capacity
hydrogen storage material that can be mass-produced economically within the
existing U.S. industrial infrastructure.
Argonne's Research
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Scott Kirklin, a co-op student researcher, closely examines a polymer sample
before characterizing its surface structure. |
Argonne's hydrogen storage material research is funded by DOE's Office of
Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies with the participation of
the University of Chicago (U of C) as a subcontractor. Argonne/U of C Team is
also a member of DOE's H2 Sorption Center of Excellence (CoE). The objective of
the team is to develop the nanostructured porous polymers as the new,
phsisorption based hydrogen storage materials. The approach is based on a
preliminary study through a successful collaboration between Argonne and The
University of Chicago that led the demonstration of a porous polymer with
promising gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen uptake capacities. The polymer
also showed excellent repeatability and stability in multiple uptake-discharge
cycles. The current research will focus on multi-discipline, interactive
approach to improve the polymer adsorbents for reaching DOE's storage capacity
targets. A unique set of design principles will be applied to guide the
exploration of the new structure and preparation method. Advanced X-ray
characterization technique and theoretical modeling tools will be employed to
gain in-depth understanding of the H2-polymer interaction using the
state-of-the-art facilities at Argonne. The knowledge gained through the
structure-property relationship study will steer the development effort in
polymer design and synthesis optimization, as well as post-synthesis treatment.
The team will also collaborate closely with other members of CoE for better
leverage of knowledge and expertise in hydrogen storage technology. The scale-up
analysis and commercialization roadmap development with interested industrial
partners will also be carried out.
Advanced Hydrogen Storage Systems Analysis
Argonne is conducting analyses of advanced materials, concepts and hybrid
approaches for hydrogen storage. Activities include:
Model and analyze developmental hydrogen storage systems
Expand software packages developed at Argonne
Provide independent analyses of hydrogen storage options for DOE
Coordinate biannual meetings of the Hydrogen Storage Systems Analysis Working
Group.
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