Titanium-capped carbon chains as promising new hydrogen storage media

The capacity of Ti-capped sp carbon atomic chains for use as hydrogen storage media is studied using first-principles density functional theory. The Ti atom is strongly attached at one end of the carbon chains via d-p hybridization, forming stable TiC(n) complexes. We demonstrate that the number of adsorbed H(2) molecules on Ti through Kubas interactions depends upon the chain types. For polyyne (n even) or cumulene (n odd) structures, each Ti atom can hold up to five or six H(2) molecules, respectively. Furthermore, the TiC(5) chain effectively terminated on a C(20) fullerene can store hydrogen with an optimal binding energy of 0.52 eV per H(2) molecule. Our results reveal a possible way to explore high-capacity hydrogen storage materials in truly one-dimensional carbon structures.