Tailoring hydrogen storage performance in γ-graphyne through valence band modulation of adsorbed Li via doping and strain

Abstract

Hydrogen storage is indeed fundamental to utilizing H2 effectively, and porous carbon materials have emerged as highly promising supports for this purpose. γ-Graphyne (γGy) possesses abundant chemical bonds, considerable porosity, and exceptional chemical stability, positioning it as a promising candidate for hydrogen storage and transport applications. In this study, we conducted density functional theory calculations to investigate the potential of Li- and Na-loaded γGy as hydrogen storage materials. Our findings reveal that the hydrogen storage capacity (HSC) of Na-loaded γGy falls significantly short of expectations, whereas Li-loaded γGy demonstrates a notably higher HSC. Subsequently, our calculations indicate that B-doping of γGy does not promote favorable HSC, whereas N-doping exhibits a beneficial effect. Furthermore, we observed that tensile strain favors the hydrogen storage properties of 4Li@γGy and 4Li@N-γGy, while compressive strain enhances the hydrogen storage characteristics of 4Li@B-γGy. Notably, we discovered the capacity to adjust the valence band center of Li (ɛVB), consequently influencing the hydrogen storage performance of γGy. Our investigation suggests that increased overlap between ɛVB in Li-loaded graphyne and the effective alignment of H2 and the supporting structure augments the binding force between Li and H2, thereby amplifying the HSC.