Superior Hydrogen storing polymer found

Tweet A series of computer simulations has identified a polymer material with a very large capacity for storing hydrogen that could be exploited in fuel cells. Jisoon Ihm and colleagues at Seoul National University in South Korea have discovered that polyacetylene with titanium atoms attached to the polymer chain can hold 63 kilograms of hydrogen per cubic metre under practical conditions.



They found that up to five hydrogen molecules can be attached to each titanium atom in this particular form of polyacetylene, allowing the material to reversibly store 7.6 wt% of hydrogen, or 63 kilograms per cubic metre under practical working conditions. This value is higher than a target of 45 kilograms per cubic metre that the US Department of Energy said should be reached by 2010