Hydrogen Storage in Boron Nitride and Carbon Nanomaterials

Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials were synthesized from LaB6 and Pd/boron powder, and the hydrogen storage was investigated by differential thermogravimetric analysis, which showed possibility of hydrogen storage of 1-3 wt%. The hydrogen gas storage in BN and carbon (C) clusters was also investigated by molecular orbital calculations, which indicated possible hydrogen storage of 6.5 and 4.9 wt%, respectively. Chemisorption calculation was also carried out for B24N24 cluster with changing endohedral elements in BN cluster to compare the bonding energy at nitrogen and boron, which showed that Li is a suitable element for hydrogenation to the BN cluster. The BN cluster materials would store H-2 molecule easier than carbon fullerene materials, and its stability for high temperature would be good. Molecular dynamics calculations showed that a H-2 molecule remains stable in a C-60 cage at 298 K and 0.1 MPa, and that pressures over 5 MPa are needed to store H-2 molecules in the C-60 cage.