GCMC investigation into adamantane-based aromatic frameworks with diamond-like structure as high-capacity hydrogen storage materials

A new class of 3D adamantane-based aromatic framework (AAF) with diamond-like structure was computationally designed with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculation and molecular mechanics (MM) methods. The hydrogen storage capacities of these AAFs were studied by the method of grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. The calculated pore sizes of three AAFs reveal that AAF-1 and AAF-2 belong to microporous materials, while AAF-3 is a member of mesoporous materials. The GCMC results reveal that at 77 K and 100 bar, AAF-3 exhibits the highest gravimetric hydrogen uptake of 29.50 wt%, while AAF-1 shows the highest volumetric hydrogen uptake of 63.04 g L(-1). In particular, the gravimetric hydrogen uptake of AAF-3 reaches the Department of Energy's target of 6 wt% at room temperature. The extraordinary performances of these new AAFs in hydrogen storage have made them enter the list of top hydrogen storage materials up to now.     

Covalent organic frameworks as exceptional hydrogen storage materials

We report the H2 uptake properties of six covalent organic frameworks (COFs) from first-principles-based grand canonical Monte-Carlo simulations. The predicted H2 adsorption isotherm is in excellent agreement with the only available experimental result (3.3 vs 3.4 wt % at 50 bar and 77 K for COF-5), also reported here, validating the predictions. We predict that COF-105 and COF-108 lead to a reversible excess H2 uptake of 10.0 wt % at 77 K, making them the best known storage materials for molecular hydrogen at 77 K. We predict that the total H2 uptake for COF-108 is 18.9 wt % at 77 K. COF-102 shows the best volumetric performance, storing 40.4 g/L of H2 at 77 K. These results indicate that the COF systems are most promising candidates for practical hydrogen storage.     

纳米结构储氢材料的计算研究与设计

对B原子掺杂的石墨烯、碳纳米管和富勒烯、MB2纳米管和ca表面覆盖的纳米管体系的氢气吸附和存储性能进行了第一原理计算,结果表明在表面曲率比较大的碳材料体系中掺B可以增强其对H2的吸附作用;过渡金属原子与H2由于Kubas作用而表现出很大的H2吸附能;碱土金属Ca离子化后的带电电荷的材料体系,由于与H2发生极化作用,也会增强氢气的吸附性能．综合我们的结果和储氢材料研究的最新进展,讨论了影响储氢材料性能的相关因素,就如何增强材料与H2之间的相互作用,使H2吸附能在0．2～0．4eV之间,能够在温和的条件下吸／放氢,并且具有较大的重量和体积储氢量等问题作了简要论述,这些原理对纳米结构储氢材料的设计有一定的指导意义．     

Computational analysis of amine-borane adducts as potential hydrogen storage materials with reversible hydrogen uptake

Amine-borane adducts are promising compounds for use in hydrogen storage applications, and the efficient catalytic release of hydrogen from these systems has been recently demonstrated. However, if hydrogen storage is to be of practical use, it is necessary that, once hydrogen has been removed from the material, it can be put back into the system to recharge the appliance. In order to develop such systems, we computationally screened a range of amine-borane adducts for their thermodynamic dehydrogenation properties. Structural trends, which lay the foundation for the possible design of amine-borane systems that exhibit reversible dihydrogen uptake, are established. We found that it is mainly the strengths of the dative bonds in both starting materials and products that govern the thermodynamic parameters of the dehydrogenation reactions. Thus, in general, electron-donating groups on nitrogen and electron-withdrawing groups on boron lead to more favorable systems. It is also possible to design promising systems whose thermodynamic parameters are a consequence of different steric strain in starting materials and products.     

Metal-organic frameworks—New materials for hydrogen storage

Published data on the physical sorption of hydrogen by new materials with a large specific surface area, crystalline microporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are systematized and analyzed. The hydrogen-accumulating properties of MOFs are compared with those of traditional materials (charcoals and zeolites) and nanocarbon systems. The role of secondary hydrogen spillover in the development of new approaches to increase the adsorption capacity of hydrogen storage materials is separately considered.     

Highly porous and robust scandium-based metal-organic frameworks for hydrogen storage

The metal-organic frameworks NOTT-400 and NOTT-401, based on a binuclear [Sc(2)(μ(2)-OH)(O(2)CR)(4)] building block, have been synthesised and characterised; the desolvated framework NOTT-401a shows a BET surface area of 1514 m(2) g(-1) with a total H(2) uptake of 4.44 wt% at 77 K and 20 bar.     

Assembling molecular species into 3D frameworks: Computational design and structure solution of hybrid materials

We present here the computational prediction of hybrid organic–inorganic extended lattices. The production of candidate crystal structures is successfully performed by direct-space assembly of building-units using the AASBU (Automated Assembly of Secondary Building Units) method, mixing independent organic and inorganic units. Hybrid candidates that are compatible with the imposed metal:organic ratio are generated with their cell parameters, space group, atomic positions, along with their simulated diffraction pattern. Since no explicit limit regarding the nature, number, and size of the inorganic and organic units, or hybrid building-block is involved, the method offers boundless potential for exploring hybrid frameworks in terms of the topological diversity. The most appealing development arises from the computer-assisted design of hybrid frameworks. Indeed, in a significant number of systems, it is well-known that controlled synthesis conditions can promote the occurrence of specific building-units, which serve to “propagate” the infinite crystal structure. We believe that the computational approach presented herein is valuable to create virtual libraries of viable hybrid polymorphs. We further show how it has proven to be, for the first time in the realm of hybrids, a tangible route towards structure solution in direct space, exemplified here with the computational structure determination of two complex hybrid structures, MIL-100 and MIL-101. This challenging area is of special interest when high quality diffraction data are not available or when very large cell sizes are involved. The development of a structural model in direct space, starting with minimal knowledge such as the metal:organic ratio, is shown here to be possible. With such a method in hand, formerly intractable structural problems when using methods based on conventional reciprocal space become feasible in direct space.     

Study of borohydride ionic liquids as hydrogen storage materials

Stability of borohydrides is determined by the localization of the negative charge on the boron atom.Ionic liquids(ILs) allow to modify the stability of the borohydrides and promote new dehydrogenation pathways with a lower activation energy. The combination of borohydride and IL is very easy to realize and no expensive rare earth metals are required. The composite of the ILs with complex hydrides decreases the enthalpy and activation energy for the hydrogen desorption. The Coulomb interaction between borohydride and IL leads to a destabilization of the materials with a significantly lower enthalpy for hydrogen desorption. Here, we report a simple ion exchange reaction using various ILs, such as vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride([VBTMA][Cl]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride([bmim][Cl]), and 1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bromide([EMPY][Br]) with NaBH_4 to decrease the hydrogen desorption temperature. Dehydrogenation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium borohydride([bmim][BH_4]) starts below 100 ℃. The quantity of desorbed hydrogen ranges between 2.4 wt% and 2.9 wt%, which is close to the theoretical content of hydrogen. The improvement in dehydrogenation is due to the strong amine cation that destabilizes borohydride by charge transfer.     

Na-coated hexagonal B36 as superior hydrogen storage materials

Based on van der Waals corrected density functional theory, we show that Na atoms acting as decoration metals are not inclined to form clusters due to a large binding energy of 3.31 eV, indicating a promising good reversible hydrogen storage. Both the polarization mechanism and the orbital hybridizations contribute to the adsorption of hydrogen molecules (storage capacity of 4.4 wt%) with optimal adsorption energy of 0.25 eV/H₂. Additionally, the dimerization of these isolated B₃₆ does not remarkably affect the number of adsorbed H₂ per Na atom. Our results may serve as a guide in the design of new hydrogen storage materials based on low-dimension boron clusters.     

Computational design of multifunctional materials

We propose a general scheme for the computational design of new materials using density functional theory. We then apply the scheme to two classes of materials; ferromagnetic ferroelectrics and half-metallic antiferromagnets. Our first “designer” ferromagnetic ferroelectric has subsequently been synthesized and the predicted properties verified. Our computations on half-metallic antiferromagnets have stimulated experimental study but the phenomenon remains unconfirmed.     

Metal alloys and carbon nanomaterials as potential hydrogen storage materials

Comparative analysis of metals (as well as their alloys and intermetallic compounds) and various carbon nanomaterials as working substances for hydrogen storage and transportation systems has been performed. It has been shown that, because of the fundamental difference in the nature of interaction with hydrogen of these two large classes of compounds, the fields of their application (as well as their performance) are certainly different. Some theoretical calculations and concepts concerning the hydrogen capacity of the materials under consideration have been critically surveyed.     

Computational study of hydrogen storage in organometallic compounds

The authors have performed a systematic computational study of the hydrogen storage capacity of model organometallic compounds consisting of Sc, Ti, and V transition metal atoms bound to CmHm rings (m=4-6). For all the complexes considered, the hydrogen storage capacity is limited by the 18-electron rule. The maximum retrievable H2 uptake predicted is 9.3 wt% using ScC4H4, slightly better than the 9.1 wt% hydrogen using TiC4H4, and much larger than the approximately 7 wt% hydrogen with VC4H4, where only four H2 molecules can be adsorbed. The kinetic stability of these hydrogen-covered organometallic complexes is reviewed in terms of the energy gap between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals and the strength and nature of successive H2 bindings.     

Hypothetical high-surface-area carbons with exceptional hydrogen storage capacities: open carbon frameworks

A class of high-surface-area carbon hypothetical structures has been investigated that goes beyond the traditional model of parallel graphene sheets hosting layers of physisorbed hydrogen in slit-shaped pores of variable width. The investigation focuses on structures with locally planar units (unbounded or bounded fragments of graphene sheets), and variable ratios of in-plane to edge atoms. Adsorption of molecular hydrogen on these structures was studied by performing grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations with appropriately chosen adsorbent-adsorbate interaction potentials. The interaction models were tested by comparing simulated adsorption isotherms with experimental isotherms on a high-performance activated carbon with well-defined pore structure (approximately bimodal pore-size distribution), and remarkable agreement between computed and experimental isotherms was obtained, both for gravimetric excess adsorption and for gravimetric storage capacity. From this analysis and the simulations performed on the new structures, a rich spectrum of relationships between structural characteristics of carbons and ensuing hydrogen adsorption (structure-function relationships) emerges: (i) Storage capacities higher than in slit-shaped pores can be obtained by fragmentation/truncation of graphene sheets, which creates surface areas exceeding of 2600 m(2)/g, the maximum surface area for infinite graphene sheets, carried mainly by edge sites; we call the resulting structures open carbon frameworks (OCF). (ii) For OCFs with a ratio of in-plane to edge sites ≈1 and surface areas 3800-6500 m(2)/g, we found record maximum excess adsorption of 75-85 g of H(2)/kg of C at 77 K and record storage capacity of 100-260 g of H(2)/kg of C at 77 K and 100 bar. (iii) The adsorption in structures having large specific surface area built from small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons cannot be further increased because their energy of adsorption is low. (iv) Additional increase of hydrogen uptake could potentially be achieved by chemical substitution and/or intercalation of OCF structures, in order to increase the energy of adsorption. We conclude that OCF structures, if synthesized, will give hydrogen uptake at the level required for mobile applications. The conclusions define the physical limits of hydrogen adsorption in carbon-based porous structures.     

Thermodynamics study of hydrogen storage materials

The growing use of conventional energy such as fossil fuels results in problems degrading our environment. Hydrogen is frequently discussed as a clean energy in the future without pollution. However, efficient and safe storage of hydrogen constitute a key challenge and unresolved problem. One of the main options is solid-state storage technology. A successful solid-state reversible storage material should meet the requirements of high storage capacity, suitable thermodynamic properties, reversibility and fast adsorption and desorption kinetics. This feature article focuses mainly on the development of thermodynamic improvement of hydrogen storage materials in the past few years including the complex hydride, ammonia borane, and metal-organic frameworks.     

Preparation of porous materials with ordered hole structure

This review paper investigates the synthesis of porous structures with controlled hole pattern and provides an overall view of the various factors involved when synthesizing such porous materials. The following factors are discussed: 1) various methods of synthesis to produce the porous structures; 2) materials which the porous structures are made of; 3) control of the pore structure; 4) various applications of such porous materials. The materials of the porous structures and the control of the pore structure will also be discussed separately under each different method, as these two factors are closely dependent on the method of fabrication.     

Computational study of hydrogen storage characteristics of covalent-bonded graphenes

We performed first-principles calculations to investigate the hydrogen storage characteristics of carbon-based 3-D solid structures, called covalently bonded graphenes (CBGs). Using the density functional method and the M?ller-Plesset perturbation method, we show that H2 molecular binding in the CBGs is stronger than that on an isolated graphene with an increase of 20 to approximately 150% in binding energy, which is very promising for storage at ambient conditions. We also suggest that the CBGs of appropriate size can effectively work as frameworks for transition metal dispersion. The adsorption properties of hydrogen on the metal atoms dispersed inside the CBGs are also presented.     

Synthesis,structure and photoluminescence of two porous metal-organoboron frameworks with rtl topology

Rigid trigonal tris(3-pyridylduryl)borane L was synthesized through four steps in good overall yield from readily available 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene and was used to construct two porous cadmium(II) complexes Cd(L)X2.G(X = Cl,Br;G = guset molecules),1(Cd(L)Cl2.EtOH.iPrOH.3H2O) and 2(Cd(L)Br2.MeOH.C7H8.3H2O),under mild reaction conditions.1 and 2 are isostructural and featured with 3D porous metal-organoboron framewoks with rtl topology,in which L acts as a 3-connected node while a dicadmium motif serves as...