A search for a strong physisorption site for H2 in Li-doped porous carbons

The mechanism of hydrogen absorption between two coronene molecules has been studied by first principle calculations. Examination of different sites for H-2 molecule confirmed the classical picture of physisorption. We have also considered molecular hydrogen adsorption in a charged carbon structure achieved by doping with lithium at a density corresponding to the intercalate compound LiC6. We have performed different types of calculations [Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT)] for various atomic basis sets using CRYSTAL98, GAUSSIAN98, and DMOL3 codes. B3LYP-DFT (B3LYP-three-parameter functional of Backe, Lee, Yang and Parr) energy minimization calculations unravel that there is a stable adsorption site for molecular hydrogen in Li-doped sp(2) carbon structure. These calculations also give an insight into the atomic configurations of interlayer species (H-2 and Li) as the interlayer spacing increases. It can be shown that large changes occur in the positions and electronic properties of interlayer species. Hydrogen molecule does not show any tendency for dissociation and adopts a position in the interlayer void that is deeply related to that of lithium ions. We have evidenced a rather large charge transfer from lithium and capping hydrogen species on neighboring slab carbon atoms that induce the stabilization of molecular hydrogen. We have also found that rotating one carbon layer with respect to the other one (at constant interlayer distance) does not change the adsorption energy to a large extent. The best adsorption site is about five times deeper than the physisorption site found in the undoped case and occurs at an interlayer separation of 5.5+/-0.5 A. The corresponding atomic configuration consists in a hydrogen molecule standing (nearly) perpendicular to the plane surface surrounded by the three lithium ions in a configuration close to that of the LiC6 intercalation compound. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.