Insights on metal nanoclusters (MNCs) (de)hydrogenation for on-board hydrogen storage application using electron microscopy and spectroscopy technique

使用电子显微镜和光谱技术深入了解金属纳米团簇 (MNC) 车载储氢应用的（脱）氢

• 批准号: 2750864
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2750864
• 关键词: Insights; metal; nanoclusters; MNCs; de

The development of volumetric efficient solid-state hydrogen (H2) storage materials is crucial for decarbonisation in the transport sector. As one of the most promising H2 storage materials, the advantages of magnesium hydride nanoparticles includes their high H2 storage capacity (7.6 wt.%) and low cost ($3/kg). However, slow kinetics and a high working temperature (ca. 250 C) limit its commercial application for on-board H2 storage. In order to improve its properties (higher kinetics, lower temperature), this project will utilise metal nanoclusters (MNCs), which are fundamentally different compared to more widely used metal nanoparticles (diameters >2 nm), where the majority of metal atoms remain 'hidden' within the lattice and are excluded from participation in useful chemistry. In contrast, the majority of the atoms in MNCs are fully accessible for physicochemical processes, while new functional properties, inaccessible in bulk metals or in nanoparticles, can emerge as a result of confinement in MNCs. Theoretical calculations predict that nano-tuning could reduce the (de)hydrogenation reaction energy when NCs of Mg/MgH2 are used, therefore reducing the working temperature [JACS, 2005, 127, 16675-80]. This would substantially reduce the on-board H2 storage cost enabling their use in fuel cell vehicles for zero-emission transport. This is a collaboration project between University of Nottingham and Diamond Light Source. The specific steps will involve (i) synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), which is an ideal support for stabilisation of MNCs due to its nitrogen "cavity" (Nottingham), (ii) depositing a series of MNCs with different sizes and composition (i.e. Mg and Pd, and their nano-alloys) on g-C3N4 and their characterisation: AC-STEM including chemical mapping and depth profile, and XPS / NAP-XPS in Diamond, (iii) Investigating the electronic changes on MNCs under H2 environment at different temperatures (AC-STEM and NAP-XPS in Diamond), (iv) evaluation of H2 storage properties including capacity, kinetics, thermodynamics and cycling test (in Nottingham).

体积高效固态氢（H2）储存材料的开发对于运输部门的脱碳至关重要。氢化镁纳米颗粒具有高储氢容量（7.6 wt.%）和低成本（3美元/kg）的优点，是最有前途的储氢材料之一。然而，缓慢的动力学和高工作温度（约250℃）限制了其在车载H2存储方面的商业应用。为了提高其性能（更高的动力学，更低的温度），该项目将利用金属纳米团簇（MNCs），这与更广泛使用的金属纳米颗粒（直径bbb20 nm）相比有根本的不同，其中大多数金属原子仍然“隐藏”在晶格中，并且被排除在有用的化学参与之外。相比之下，跨国公司中的大多数原子可以完全用于物理化学过程，而在大块金属或纳米颗粒中无法获得的新功能特性可以由于跨国公司的限制而出现。理论计算表明，纳米调谐可以降低Mg/MgH2的NCs的（脱氢）反应能量，从而降低工作温度[j]。这将大大降低车载氢气储存成本，使其能够用于燃料电池汽车的零排放运输。这是诺丁汉大学和钻石光源的合作项目。具体步骤包括：(i)合成石墨化碳氮（g-C3N4），由于其氮“空腔”（Nottingham），它是跨国公司稳定的理想支撑；（ii）在g-C3N4上沉积一系列不同尺寸和成分（即Mg和Pd及其纳米合金）的跨国公司，并对其进行表征。（iii）研究不同温度下跨国公司在H2环境下的电子变化（AC-STEM和NAP-XPS in Diamond）， （iv）评估H2存储性能，包括容量、动力学、热力学和循环测试（诺丁汉）。