Abstract
This study investigates synergistic effects of sub-5 nm Fe nanoparticles (FeNPs) supported on mesoporous carbon (MC) for catalyzing hydrogen storage properties of Mg(BH4)2 (MBH). The study compares two methods for dispersing Fe NPs in MC: (i) ultrasonication nanoconfinement (un) and (ii) post-nanoconfinement (pn) via stir-ring. Based on the results, it is found that the ultrasonication nanoconfinement method can effectively disperse the FeNPs with 5 nm in MC support (FeNP-un-MC), later which can efficiently confine MBH (FeNP-un-MC@MBH system). The hydrogen (H2) desorption properties of the FeNP-un-MC@MBH system were found to be better than that of post-confinement-mediated FeNP-pn-MC@MBH system. For instance, H2 started to desorb from the FeNP-un-MC@MBH system at only 66 degrees C (Tonset) and reached its peak at-153 degrees C, compared to 270 degrees C (Tonset) and its peak-350 degrees C for pure MBH, respectively. The ultrasonication-mediated nanoconfined FeNP-un-MC@MBH system released a total of 7.01 wt% H2 within 90 min at 350 degrees C. The study shows that the activation energy (Ea) of FeNP-un-MC@MBH is 19.57 kJ/mol, achieved due to the improved dehydrogenation kinetics of MBH. These improvements are due to the synergistic effects of nano-compartmentalization and highly dispersed Fe NP catalyst sites in the MC support. The research emphasizes the promising application of ultrasonication-mediated nanoconfined Fe NPs in mesoporous carbon which can be used as an effective catalyst for enhancing the hydrogen storage properties of metal-based hydrides (MBH).
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 109206 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Energy Storage |
Volume | 73 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Dec 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Activation energy
- Catalysis
- Hydrogen storage
- Iron oxide
- Mesoporous carbon
- Mg(BH4)2
- Nanoconfinement
- Nanoparticles
- Synergistic effects