Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Hydrogen Storage in Carbon Aerogels
H. Y. Tian, C. E. Buckley, M. Paskevicius, and D. A. Sheppard
Department of Imaging and Applied Physics, Curtin University of Technology,
GPO Box U 1987
,
Perth 6845
,
WA
,
Australia
H.ian@curin.edu.au
Hydrogen storage issues have been universally investigated in order
to satisfy the goals for a hydrogen economy. Carbon aerogels (CAs)
are regarded as one of the most promising candidates for hydrogen
storage at cryogenic temperature (77 K) because they have ultrafine
cell/pore sizes, continuous porosity and high surface areas. This
chapter discusses the synthesis and characterization of various CAs.
CAs were prepared from the sol-gel polymerization of resorcinol
with furfural followed by carbonization and activation. The effect
of pH values on microstructures of CAs were studied using acetic
acid and potassium hydrate catalysts. Furthermore, an efficient and
simple synthesis method was employed to prepare cobalt-doped
CAs. The chemical reaction mechanism and optimum synthesis
conditions were further investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy and thermoanalyses with a focus on the sol-gel process.
The CAs were investigated with respect to their microstructures, using
small angle X-ray scattering and nitrogen adsorption measurements