Computational investigation of hydrogen storage on B5V3

Based on density functional theory method with 6-311+G(d,p) basis set, the structures, stability and hydrogen storage capacity of B₅V₃ have been theoretically investigated. It is found that a maximum of seven hydrogen molecules can be adsorbed on B₅V₃ with gravimetric uptake capacity of 6.39 wt%. The uptake capacity exceeds the target set by the US Department of Energy for vehicular application. Moreover, the average adsorption energy of B₅V₃ 01 (7H₂) is 0.60 eV/H₂ in the desirable range of reversible hydrogen storage. The kinetic stability of H₂ adsorbed on B₅V₃ 01 is confirmed by using gap between highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The gap value of B₅V₃ 01 (7H₂) is 2.81 eV, which indicates the compound with high stability. In addition, the thermochemistry calculation (Gibbs free energy corrected adsorption energy) is used to analyse if the adsorption is favourable or not at different temperatures. It can be found that the Gibbs corrected adsorption energy of B₅V₃ 01 (7H₂) is still positive at 400 K at 1 atm. It means that the adsorption of seven hydrogen molecules on B₅V₃ 01 is energetically favourable in a fairly wide temperature range. All the results show that B₅V₃ 01 can be considered as a promising material for hydrogen storage.