Härmas, R.; Palm, R.; Koppel, M.; Kalder, L.; Russina, M.; Kurig, H.; Härk, E.; Aruväli, J.; Tallo, I.; Embs, J.P.; Lust, E.: The ortho-para transition, confinement and self-diffusion of H2 in three distinct carbide-derived carbons by quasi-and inelastic neutron scattering, EPJ Web of Conferences 286. EPJ Web of Conferences 286 (2023), p. 05001/1-5
10.1051/epjconf/202328605001
Open Access Version
Abstract:
Microporous carbon materials are promising for hydrogen storage due to their structural variety, high specific surface area, large pore volume and relatively low cost. Carbide-derived carbons are highly valued as model materials because their porous structure is fine-tuned through the choice of the precursor carbide and the synthesis route. This study investigates H2 adsorption in three carbide derived carbons with well-defined pores and pore size distributions with quasi- and inelastic neutron scattering methods. Concerning previous studies, a wider neutron energy transfer window is investigated, and a detailed quantitative evaluation of the graphitic structure is presented. The graphitic structure of the carbon is shown to influence the speed of the ortho-to-para transition of H2. Namely, the ortho-para transition was the slowest in carbon derived from TiC, which also had the smallest average stacking size of graphene layers. The possibility to inhibit the ortho-para transition in cryo-adsorption devices is sought after to mitigate the evaporation of H2 during storage. In addition, the self-diffusion of H2 in different timescales is detected in carbon derived from Mo2C, demonstrating the usefulness of obtaining data in a wide energy window.