It has been observed for the first time, that hydrogen binds to open metal coordination sites in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which is nano-porous. This first definitive evidence is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society – the sister publication of Chemical and Engineering News.
It has always been difficult to develop hydrogen storage systems, having sufficient density for vehicles. But, this direct binding method, allows the hydrogen molecules to pack together more closely, boosting up the storage capacity in a major way, over simple hydrogen adsorption at nonmetal sites in materials that are prepared previously.
Synthesizing a manganese benzenetristetrazolate MOF with a previously unknown cubic topology, a research team created a storage density that is 85% that of liquid hydrogen.
Importantly, this capacity exceeds the Department of Energy’s 2010 targets of 6.0 wt % and 45 g/L!
Picture Source: Jeffrey Long
