Nano-Sized Hydrogen Storage System to Increase Efficiency
February 28, 2017 | LLNLEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Lawrence Livermore scientists have collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories (link is external), to develop an efficient hydrogen storage system that could be a boon for hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Hydrogen is an excellent energy carrier, but the development of lightweight solid-state materials for compact, low-pressure storage is a huge challenge.
Complex metal hydrides are a promising class of hydrogen storage materials, but their viability is usually limited by slow hydrogen uptake and release. Nanoconfinement -- infiltrating the metal hydride within a matrix of another material such as carbon -- can, in certain instances, help make this process faster by shortening diffusion pathways for hydrogen or by changing the thermodynamic stability of the material.
However, the Livermore-Sandia team, in conjunction with collaborators from Mahidol University (link is external)in Thailand and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (link is external), showed that nanoconfinement can have another, potentially more important consequence. They found that the presence of internal "nano-interfaces" within nanoconfined hydrides can alter which phases appear when the material is cycled.
The researchers examined the high-capacity lithium nitride (Li3N) hydrogen storage system under nanoconfinement. Using a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques, they showed that the pathways for the uptake and release of hydrogen were fundamentally changed by the presence of nano-interfaces, leading to dramatically faster performance and reversibility.
"The key is to get rid of the undesirable intermediate phases, which slow down the material's performance as they are formed or consumed. If you can do that, then the storage capacity kinetics dramatically improve and the thermodynamic requirements to achieve full recharge become far more reasonable," said Brandon Wood, an LLNL materials scientist and lead author of the paper. "In this material, the nano-interfaces do just that, as long as the nanoconfined particles are small enough. It's really a new paradigm for hydrogen storage, since it means that the reactions can be changed by engineering internal microstructures."
The Livermore researchers used a thermodynamic modeling method that goes beyond conventional descriptions to consider the contributions from the evolving solid phase boundaries as the material is hydrogenated and dehydrogenated. They showed that accounting for these contributions eliminates intermediates in nanoconfined lithium nitride, which was confirmed spectroscopically.
Beyond demonstrating nanoconfined lithium nitride as a rechargeable, high-performing hydrogen-storage material, the work establishes that proper consideration of solid-solid nanointerfaces and particle microstructure are necessary for understanding hydrogen-induced phase transitions in complex metal hydrides.
"There is a direct analogy between hydrogen storage reactions and solid-state reactions in battery electrode materials," said Tae Wook Heo, another LLNL co-author on the study. "People have been thinking about the role of interfaces in batteries for some time, and our work suggests that some of the same strategies being pursued in the battery community could also be applied to hydrogen storage. Tailoring morphology and internal microstructure could be the best way forward for engineering materials that could meet performance targets."
Suggested Items
Indium Corporation Expert to Present on Pb-Free Solder for Die-Attach in Discrete Power Applications
04/30/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation Product Manager – Semiconductor Dean Payne will present at the Advanced Packaging for Power Electronics conference, hosted by IMAPS, held May 8-9 in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Sustainability in the Industry
04/26/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOGuest Editor Henry Crandall and Chris Nash of Indium Corporation discuss the company's 90th anniversary and its focus on sustainability. They focus on the benefits of sustainable materials, their compatibility, and value propositions. The conversation also highlights how Durafuse LT technology's role in reducing reflow temperatures is leading to significant cost and energy savings. Nash also touches on downstream sustainability efforts such as using recycled materials for packaging.
SMC Korea 2024 to Highlight Semiconductor Materials Trends and Innovations on Industry’s Path to $1 Trillion
04/24/2024 | SEMIWith Korea a major consumer of semiconductor materials and advanced materials a key driver of innovation on the industry’s path to $1 trillion, industry leaders and experts will gather at SMC (Strategic Materials Conference) Korea 2024 on May 29 at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea to provide insights into the latest materials developments and trends. Registration is open.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Marks the Beginning of a New Era for Newccess Industrial; The Construction of the MINGXIN Building
04/12/2024 | Newccess IndustrialOn a clear and sunny day in March, the groundbreaking ceremony for the MINGXIN Building took place in Shenzhen, China. This moment marked the official commencement of construction for a project that will reshape the semiconductor materials industry.
The Need for a Holistic Global Sustainability Standard
04/10/2024 | Michael Ford, Aegis SoftwareNo one can deny that the resources of our fragile planet are finite. The environment seems like a third party, subject to constant degradation. We’re acutely aware of the effects of pollution on our climate, and despite our “throw-away” culture, recycling and recovery of materials has remained relatively expensive, even as we use more energy just to survive.