Researchers from Skoltech, along with international teams from Italy, Japan, China, and the Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography in Russia, have made an exciting breakthrough in hydrogen storage technology.
This discovery is crucial as hydrogen is seen as a key player in shifting towards a cleaner, sustainable future.
However, storing hydrogen efficiently has always been a challenge due to its lightweight and highly reactive nature.
The study, published in Advanced Energy Materials, introduces a new material that can store four times more hydrogen than existing technologies.
This is significant because hydrogen, while being a potent source of clean energy, is tricky to manage. It’s lighter than air, extremely reactive, and tends to leak out of containers, making it difficult to use widely as a fuel.
Currently, hydrogen is stored in gas cylinders or tanks under high pressure and low temperatures, which is costly and energy-intensive.
About 20% to 40% of the energy that hydrogen is supposed to supply is used up just in storing it. Moreover, hydrogen’s small size allows it to escape easily and can damage containers by making them brittle.
The new materials discovered, called cesium heptahydride (CsH7) and rubidium nonahydride (RbH9), can hold up to seven and nine hydrogen atoms per metal atom, respectively. This capacity is significantly higher than any other known material and could potentially change how we store hydrogen.
Lead researcher Dr. Dmitrii Semenok explains that these materials work by storing hydrogen in the gaps within their crystal structures.
This method is safer and more efficient than current options. The synthesis of these materials involves mixing ammonia borane with cesium or rubidium under very high pressures created between two diamonds.
This process results in a transformation where large amounts of hydrogen are packed into the crystal structures of cesium and rubidium.
This discovery is not just a scientific achievement; it has practical implications. It means that hydrogen could be used more widely in industries like steelmaking, glass, cement production, and chemical manufacturing.
It could also revolutionize transportation and help in balancing energy supply and demand, especially with the fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources.
Further experiments are planned to see if these materials can be produced in larger quantities at lower pressures and still remain stable.
This research paves the way for hydrogen to be a more practical and impactful part of our efforts to create a sustainable energy future.
The team’s findings promise a new era of energy storage that could be the key to unlocking hydrogen’s potential as a green fuel.
