DFT study of hydrogen storage in Pd-decorated C60 fullerene

Hydrogen storage reactions on Pd-doped C₆₀ fullerene are investigated by using the state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations. The Pd atom prefers to bind at the bridge site between two hexagonal rings, and can bind up to four hydrogen molecules with average adsorption energies of 0.61, 0.45, 0.32, and 0.21 eV per hydrogen molecule. With no metal clustering, the system gravimetric capacities are expected to be as large as 5.8 wt%. While the desorption activation barriers of the complexes nH₂ + Pd–C₆₀ with n = 1 are outside the department of energy (DOE) domain (?0.2 to ?0.6 eV), the desorption activation barriers of the complexes nH₂ + Pd–C₆₀ with n = 2–4 are inside this domain. While the interaction of 1H₂ with Pd + C₆₀ is irreversible at 459 K, the interaction of 2H₂ with Pd + C₆₀ is reversible at 529 K. The hydrogen storage of the irreversible 1H₂ + Pd–C₆₀ and reversible 2H₂ + Pd–C₆₀ interactions are characterised in terms of densities of states, infrared, Raman, and proton magnetic resonance spectra, electrophilicity, and statistical thermodynamic stability.