Porous Carbon Nanomaterial from Corncob as Hydrogen Storage Material

Abstract

The corncob, one form of carbon source, is an excellent precursor for the synthesis of high specific surface area porous carbon nanomaterial. The research activity in the field of hydrogen storage has increased substantially over the last decade due to the practical need of hydrogen fuel for fuel cell automobiles and other hydrogen IC engines. In the search for new materials, carbon adsorbents are identified as a storage material due to their low cost and large surface areas. Activated carbon has attracted much attention for adsorption applications due to its lightweight, extensive internal pore structure and large surface area. In the present investigation, the porous carbon nanomaterial is prepared from corncob by impregnation with 70% H 3PO 4 followed by calcination at 500 ◦ C in the presence of N 2. H 3PO 4 treatment helps to get the dense porous structure, with higher surface area of 1600 m2/g, confirmed by microscope images. The hydrogen adsorption studies on the porous carbon nanomaterial are investigated using a Sieverts apparatus which gives a room temperature hydrogen adsorption capacity of about 2 wt% at 4 MPa hydrogen equilibrium pressure.