Porous carbon materials with improved hydrogen storage capacity by carbonizing Zn(BDC)TED0.5

Abstract

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have promising application prospects in the field of hydrogen storage. However, the application of many MOFs with high hydrogen adsorption capacity is limited by their poor water stability. Herein, a porous carbon material with high hydrogen storage capacity as MOFs and stability is obtained by a simple carbonization method using a series of Zn(BDC)TED0.5 (MOFs) with different ligands (-OH, –NH2 and –CH3) modified as a material. The results of the XRD, SEM, ICP and gas adsorption results showed that the Zn atoms in Zn(BDC)TED0.5 can be removed by carbonization to form porous carbon materials with well-developed pore structures. The carbonized Zn(BDC-CH3)TED0.5 exhibited the best hydrogen storage capacity of 1.91 ​wt% at 77 ​K and 1 ​bar, which was 23% higher than that of Zn(BDC)TED0.5. The promotion of storage capacity can be attributed to the aperture structure of the porous carbon material with a more suitable adsorption performance of hydrogen, which is derived from the intrinsic structure of MOFs. At the same time, the carbonized samples also have good water and chemical stability, which can maintain their gas adsorption capacity even after being immersed in high-concentration hydrochloric acid for several days.