Nano-Quasicrystals for Hydrogen Storage

可持续氢只生产水作为废物，可以为能源供应、运输、商业和家庭部门提供可靠的脱碳解决方案。氢在能源应用特别是汽车中开发的一个主要障碍是缺乏安全、高效和具有成本效益的储存系统。准晶体（QC）由于其独特的多壳团簇结构，提供高密度的间隙位来容纳氢，因此有潜力成为一种轻量级的储氢材料。例如，传统金属/合金氢化物的典型存储容量小于2H/M（每金属氢原子数），而QC氢化物的理论存储容量为3.2 H/M。广泛的先进晶体材料已经被研究用于储氢；然而，人们对能量存储方面的QC知之甚少，尤其是纳米级QC。该项目旨在开发用于车载储氢的高性能纳米QC材料。学生将通过各种合成方法合成纳米QC，如化学气相沉积和物理气相沉积。通过XRD、SEM、TEM对其结构进行了表征。储氢性能包括容量、动力学、热力学和可逆性，将通过差示扫描量热法、热重分析和压力-成分等温线技术进行评估。与E. Besley教授领导的计算项目合作，该项目还将通过原位粉末中子衍射研究氢原子与宿主QC晶格之间的相互作用，以了解结构与存储性能之间的关系，从而制定用于储氢的纳米QC的设计方案。

Producing only water as a waste product, sustainable hydrogen could offer credible decarbonisation solutions for energy supply, transport, commercial and domestic sectors. A major barrier to exploitation of hydrogen in energy applications especially vehicles is the lack of a safe, efficient and cost-effective storage system. Quasicrystal (QC) have potential to be a lightweight hydrogen storage material due to their unique multi-shell cluster structure, which provide a high density of interstitial sites to accommodate hydrogen. For example, the typical storage capacity is less than 2H/M (hydrogen atom per metal) in conventional metal/alloy hydrides, in comparison to 3.2 H/M of the theoretical capacity in QC hydrides. A wide range of advanced crystal materials have been investigated for hydrogen storage; yet little is known about QC with respect to energy storage, especially nano-sized QCs. This project aims to develop high-performance nano QC materials for on-board vehicle hydrogen storage. The student will synthesize nano QC via various synthetic methods, such as chemical vapour deposition and physical vapour deposition. The characterisation via XRD, SEM, TEM will reveal the structure of nano QCs. Hydrogen storage properties including capacity, kinetics, thermodynamics and reversibility will be evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and pressure-composition-isotherm techniques. Working alongside a computational project led by Prof E. Besley, this project will also study the interaction between hydrogen atom and host QC lattice via in-situ powder neutron diffraction to understand the relationship between structure and storage performance, therefore set the design protocol for nano QCs for hydrogen storage.