Enhanced Hydrogen Storage Capacity Research Articles

Development of Ti–Zr–Mn–Cr-(V–Fe) based alloys for hydrogen feeding system in hydrogen metallurgy application

AB2-type Ti-based hydrogen storage alloys are considered promising candidates for the hydrogen feeding system in hydrogen-metallurgy application. In this work, Ti0·87Zr0.15MnxCr1.75-xV0.25 (x = 1.25–1.5), Ti0·87Zr0·15Mn1·5Cr0.5-y(VFe)y (y = 0.25–0.43) and Ti0.85+zZr0.15Mn1·5Cr0·07(VFe)0.43 (z = 0–0.05) alloys were synthesized using induction levitation melting, where ferrovanadium VFe consists of 80 wt% V and 20 wt% Fe. Subsequently, their microstructures and hydrogen storage performances were systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that all alloy samples exhibit a single C14 Laves phase structure with uniform element distribution. With the increment of Cr/Mn, VFe/Cr ratio, or Ti stoichiometry, the alloys exhibit enhanced hydrogen storage capacity, accompanied by a decrease in hydrogenation equilibrium pressure because of interstitial volume expansion or hydrogen affinity improvement, which is also supported by density functional theory calculations. Considering the application of hydrogen metallurgy, Ti0·86Zr0·15Mn1·5Cr0·07(VFe)0.43 alloy is regarded as a promising candidate, exhibiting a saturated capacity of 2.01 wt% H2, an effective reversible capacity of 1.91 wt% H2, rapid hydrogenation kinetics, excellent cyclic durability and low costs. This work provides valuable insights into the compositional design of hydrogen storage alloys for the hydrogen feeding system in hydrogen metallurgy applications.

Preparation and investigation of TbCrO3/montmorillonite-K10 nanocomposite electrode for electrochemical hydrogen storage application

The limited resources of fossil fuels and the increase in human’s demand for energy have made the use of alternative green energies like hydrogen very important. In this regard, achieving superior specific capacity and high-performance electrochemical hydrogen storage requires the structural design and development of highly active electrode material with cooperative influence of “spillover”, “redox”, and “physisorption” mechanisms. The aim of this report is to fabricate a binary TbCrO3/montmorillonite-K10 (TC/MMT) nanocomposite and to skillfully ensure its electrochemical ability for hydrogen storage in 2.0 M KOH electrolyte, for the first time. A facile sonochemical strategy was presented to successfully form uniform orthorhombic TC nanoparticles with varying tetradentate Schiff base ligands derived from salicylaldehyde and relative diamines as well as the molar ratio of H2Salbn to Tb3+. Characterization analyses displayed that the nucleation and growth process of TC samples can be well controlled by a molar ratio of H2Salbn:Tb3+ = 1:1 within the range of 17–72 nm. Furthermore, implementation of a well-organized MMT-based nanocomposite with various amounts of nano-TC perovskites was evaluated on the structural and electrochemical features. The greatly enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of TC/MMT nanocomposites was acquired as 734.3 mAh/g after 15 cycles, when 10.0 % of perovskite oxide is induced by MMT layers. Moreover, architecture of pristine TC and MMT electrodes possessed a 936.87 and 341.52 mAh/g discharge capacities at the same situation. These merits allow a promising potential application of the nanocomposite electrodes containing rare-earth chromite oxide and clay substrates in electrochemical energy-storage devices.

Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity and kinetics in AZ61 alloy with nickel and cobalt additives: Insights into reaction mechanisms and activation energy

This study explores the synthesis of AZ61 alloy composite powders with Co-Ni additives using high-energy ball milling (HEBM). The powders are extensively characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to analyze their morphology, composition, structure, and bonding. The hydrogen storage capacity of the powders is measured using a Sievert's-type system revealing diverse capacities. For AZ61 alloy with Ni additive (2 µm), it absorbs 90% of the capacity in 410 s, showing an activation energy of 91.46 kJmol−1 and displays Mg2NiH4 as an intermediate. On the other hand, AZ61 alloy with Co additive requires 576 s to absorb 90% of the capacity, showing an activation energy of 117.23 kJmol−1 and Mg2CoH5 as an intermediate. When a mixture of Ni and Co is added to AZ61 alloy, it achieves 90% capacity absorption in 300 s. In the absence of additives, AZ61 alloy (15 µm) reaches 90% capacity absorption in 1600 s. The incorporation of additives significantly reduces the activation energy. A correlation between longer absorption times and larger activation energies provides valuable insights into the storage kinetics and activation energy associated with the hydrogen absorption/desorption process.

Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of graphene oxide through doping with copper ferrite nanoparticles

AbstractThe aim of this study was to prepare and characterize nanocomposites consisting of graphene oxide (GO) and copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) in different doping ratios (1%‐5%) and investigate their potential for storing hydrogen gas. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The results showed that hydrogen storage at 20°C was not possible with GO alone, but the incorporation of different proportions of copper ferrite nanoparticles significantly improved the hydrogen storage properties of the composite materials. The optimal percentage of copper ferrite was found to be around 3%, and it was observed that the percentage of ferrite added is crucial in determining the hydrogen storage properties of the nanocomposites. The best hydrogen storage value of 3.3% was achieved at a temperature of 20°C and a pressure of 80 bar within just 60 seconds. The adsorption of the composite material was found to be of the second type, with a re‐creation coefficient greater than 0.97 for all the materials tested, indicating favorable adsorption. The b value was up to 0, further confirming the favorable adsorption. Overall, the results demonstrate that the incorporation of copper ferrite nanoparticles can significantly improve the hydrogen storage properties of graphene oxide, and careful selection of the doping ratio is necessary to achieve the optimal performance. These findings have potential implications for the development of efficient hydrogen storage materials for clean energy applications.

Effect of Vanadium Nano-fibrous Flowers as being decorated on Carbon Nano Materials for Enhancing its Hydrogen Storage Capacity

Abstract: To enhance hydrogen storage capacity of Carbon Nano Materials (CNMs), Transition metal Vanadium in its Nano form at different concentrations on CNMs were synthesized from natural waste, Sugar-Cane Bagasse (SCB). Raw Carbon obtained by pyrolyzing SCB at high temperature in an inert medium and activated by alkali were decorated with Vanadium Nano-fibrous Flowers (V-NFs) (The authors named this as ‘Vanadium Nano-fibrous Flowers’) by annealing at different temperatures in CO2 atmosphere. XRD and Raman spectroscopic analysis were carried out for its structural elucidation. EDAX and ICP-AES gave the amount of Vanadium being deposited. Nano-fibrous Flowers of Vanadium on porous morphology of CNMs was depicted by SEM analysis. Comparative studies of Hydrogen adsorption of CNMs were concluded by Sievert’s apparatus for various concentration of vanadium on CNMs.

Enhanced Hydrogen Storage Capacity in Two-Dimensional Fullerene Networks.

In contrast to isolated C60 molecular dispersion in solvents, the monolayer C60 networks synthesized by Hou et al. (Nature 2022, 606, 507-510) feature compact nanocages, serving as natural containers for hydrogen storage. The anisotropic lattice and intrinsic local strains induce delocalization of conjugated π orbitals within C60, enabling hydrogen chemisorption without an additional chemical modification. Through first-principles calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal the correspondence between chemisorption sites and orbital distributions, determining the orientation of polyhedrons formed by physiosorbed hydrogen molecules. The combination of chemisorption and physisorption processes significantly enhances hydrogen storage capacity in monolayer C60 networks while maintaining the thermodynamic stability of the nanocage structures. Numerical results indicate a maximum internal hydrogen pressure exceeding 116 GPa at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. These findings suggest that monolayer C60 networks are promising solid-state candidates for highly efficient hydrogen storage.

High-capacity hydrogen storage through molecularly restructured and confined hydrogen hydrates

In the future landscape of sustainable energies and in combating global climate challenges, hydrogen plays a crucial role in both stationary and portable energy systems that currently supply 18 % of the total energy demand. High-capacity, safe, and cost-effective hydrogen storage is critical for advancing the hydrogen economy but remains a dauting challenge. A range of advanced material systems including metal hydrides, metal-organic frameworks, and 2D materials have been explored in efforts to achieve high storage capacity, but high operating pressures, low charging/discharging rates, and energy intensive discharging processes have hindered their development and deployment. Here, we report a green material paradigm for high storage capacity with fast charging/discharging and ambient temperature discharging. The material platform is a modified zeolite with rationally tuned pores and modified surface chemistry that exhibits long-term stability and stores hydrogen gas in the form of hydrogen hydrates. The selected pore dimensions enhance the hydrogen solubility through restructuring of water molecules, and the surface chemistry of the material leads to enhanced double donor-acceptor bonds with water molecules for enhanced hydrogen storage capacity. The material enables hydrogen storage in hydrogen hydrate form at 8–10 bar dropping the required storage pressure by two orders of magnitude lower compared to state-of-the-art materials and addresses long-standing hurdles of high operating pressure and slow formation kinetics of hydrogen hydrates providing a promising platform for hydrogen storage.

Thermochemical method for controlling pore structure to enhance hydrogen storage capacity of biochar

Developing new carbon-based hydrogen storage materials can significantly promote solid-state hydrogen storage technology. Biochar with high hydrogen storage capacity can be prepared by KOH melt activation, which has a high proportion of micropores (96.56%) compared with the porous carbon in the existing literature. Its specific surface area and pore volume are 2801.88 m2/g and 1.44 cm3/g, respectively. The size of the nanopores is affected by the activation ratio, but the temperature has little effect at the low activation ratio. SEM results show that the KOH activation process gradually shifts from the biochar's inside to the outside. A low KOH/char ratio (less than 2:1) can promote the formation of small aromatic rings. Due to its high specific surface area and microporosity, the absolute adsorption capacity of hydrogen in biochar is 2.53 wt% at −196 °C and 1 bar, rising to 5.32 wt% at 50 bar. The hydrogen adsorption process conforms to the Langmuir model. Microporous, mesoporous, and macroporous exhibit different hydrogen adsorption characteristics in various pressure ranges. However, ultramicroporous (<0.7 nm) always plays a decisive role in the hydrogen storage of biochar.

Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of NiAl-layered double hydroxide modified with Tb3Fe5O12 nanostructures

Under ultrasonic irradiation, the porous Tb3Fe5O12 (TFO) and Nickel Aluminum layer double hydroxide (NiAl-LDH) were synthesized by investigation the effect of sonication time. Synthesis of TFO was conducted in the presence of tetradentate Schiff-base ligand H2salophen, [N,N′-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-phenylenediamine] as complexing agent to size controlling and further growth prevention of crystals. The resultant nanocomposites of TFO/NiAl-LDH used as novel active compounds for applying in hydrogen storage strategies. Comprehensively, the hydrogen capacitance after 15 cycles was displayed on the pure NiAl-LDH and TFO materials about 115 and 334 mAhg−1 respectively. It demanded the maximum capacitance for Tb3Fe5O12/NiAl-LDH nanocomposites was 451 mAhg−1, which was higher than the initial NiAl-LDH structure. It was exposed from the spillover effect that; the endorsed electrochemical hydrogen storage (EHS) performance is ascribed to the reaction of the redox pair of Fe3+/Fe2+ at the active sites throughout the EHS procedure. This work delivers a novel plan and potential sorption electrode materials to progress the intrinsic action of layered compounds.

Hydrogen adsorption on osmium and boron co-doped single walled carbon nanotubes for energy storage: A DFT study

The osmium and boron co-doped armchair single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been studied for hydrogen storage using ab-initio method. The calculations have been carried out using Gaussian software with Density functional theory. We have replaced a carbon atom by osmium atom in SWCNT & neighboring carbon atoms are replaced by boron atoms sequentially. In the present work, the hydrogen adsorption ability of osmium/boron co-doped CNTs has been investigated on the basis of bond distances, variation of binding energy, chemical hardness, band gaps, charge distribution and adsorption energies. It is found that osmium/boron co-doping in SWCNTs enhanced the hydrogen storage capacity but increase of boron atom concentration in osmium doped SWCNT reduces the storage ability. The maximum hydrogen adsorption energy was calculated in case of osmium atom decorated single boron atom doped SWCNT (Os-BCNT) i.e. E ads - 0.490 eV. And study reveal that osmium doped CNT (Os-CNT) and osmium/boron co-doped CNT (Os-BCNT) both can efficiently adsorb five hydrogen molecules at 298.15 Kelvin temperature/1 atm pressure. • Modified structural and electrical properties of osmium/boron co-doped SWCNT • Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of osmium/boron co doped SWCNT. • Effect of boron concentration on hydrogen storage capacity on SWCNT

Room-temperature hydrogen storage performance of metal-organic framework/graphene oxide composites by molecular simulations

Metal-organic framework/graphene oxide (MOF/GO) composites have been regarded as potential room-temperature hydrogen storage materials recently. In this work, the influence of MOF structural properties, GO functional group contents and different amounts of doped lithium (Li+) on hydrogen storage performance of different MOF/GO composites were investigated by grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. It is found that MOF/GO composites based on small-pore MOFs exhibit enhanced hydrogen storage capacity, whereas MOF/GO based on large-pore MOFs show decreased hydrogen storage capacity, which can be ascribed to the novel pores at MOF/GO interface that favors the enhanced hydrogen storage performance due to the increased pore volume/surface area. By integrating the small-pore MOF-1 with GO, the hydrogen storage capacity was enhanced from 9.88 mg/go up to 11.48 mg/g. However, the interfacial pores are smaller compared with those in large-pore MOFs, resulting in significantly reduced pore volume/surface area as well as hydrogen storage capacities of large-pore MOF/GO composite. Moreover, with the increased contents of hydroxyl, epoxy groups as well as carboxyl group modification, the pore volumes and specific surface areas of MOF/GO are decreased, resulting in reduced hydrogen storage performance. Furthermore, the room-temperature hydrogen storage capacities of Li+ doped MOF/GO was improved with increased Li+ at low loading and decrease with the increased Li+ amounts at high loading. This is due to that the introduced Li+ effectively increases the accessible hydrogen adsorption sites at low Li+ loading, which eventually favors the hydrogen adsorption capacity. However, high Li+ loading causes ion aggregation that reduces the accessible hydrogen adsorption sites, leading to decreased hydrogen storage capacities. MOF-5/GO composites with moderate Li+ doping achieved the optimum hydrogen storage capacities of approximately 29 mg/g.

A comprehensive review of the prospects for future hydrogen storage in materials‐application and outstanding issues

The ongoing population explosion has led to the rapid consumption of different energy sources. The continuous demand for energy and its associated services for socio-economic development is concerning due to the reduction of natural energy sources. Therefore, research to explore clean and sustainable energy sources to fulfill this energy demand has continuously been conducted over the past decades. Hydrogen is widely accepted as a possible energy carrier owing to its advantages, such as ease of availability, renewability, and environmentally friendly nature. Hydrogen storage in the liquid or gaseous form poses safety and transportation challenges. In this context, metal hydrides are a vital solution. This review article discusses unique collections of HEA-based metal hydrides for the first time in conjunction with conventional metal hydrides. This article can potentially guide the materials research community in understanding the current challenges associated with designing novel hydrogen storage alloys from a clean energy perspective and their applications. The review suggests improving the thermodynamics and hydrogen reaction kinetics to enhance hydrogen storage capacity. Finally, the global developing trends are reviewed and critical challenges and promising opportunities are identified. Highlights Essential aspects of various alloys and their hydrides are analyzed. This review supports the utilization of hydrogen as clean energy fuel and its possible storage measures. The review provides an imperative connection of the metal hydrides, including emerging high-entropy alloy hydrides, with renewable and sustainable energy. Metal hydrides are an economic option for hydrogen-based energy applications. This review focuses on present issues and the prospective application of hydrogen storage.

Enhancing Hydrogen Adsorption Capacity of Metal Organic Frameworks M(BDC)TED0.5 through Constructing a Bimetallic Structure.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have promising application prospects in the field of hydrogen storage. However, the successful application of MOFs in the field is still limited by their hydrogen storage capacity. Herein, a series of MxM1–x(BDC)TED0.5 (M = Zn, Cu, Co, or Ni) with a bimetallic structure was constructed by introducing two metal ions in the synthesis process. The results of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma showed that the bimetallic structure with different content ratios can be stably constructed by a hydrothermal method. Among them, the Cu-based bimetal MOFs Cu0.625Ni0.375(BDC)TED0.5 exhibited the best hydrogen storage capacity of 2.04 wt% at 77 K and 1 bar, which was 22% higher than that of monometallic Ni(BDC)TED0.5. The enhanced hydrogen storage capacity can be attributed to the improved specific surface area and micropore volume of bimetal MOFs by introducing an appropriate amount of bimetallic atoms.

Improved room-temperature hydrogen storage performance of lithium-doped MIL-100(Fe)/graphene oxide (GO) composite

Li+ doping is regarded as an effective strategy to enhance the room-temperature hydrogen storage of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this work, Li+ is doped into both MIL-100(Fe) and MIL-100(Fe)/graphene oxide (GO) composite, and it is demonstrated that the hydrogen uptake of Li+ doped MIL-100(Fe)/GO (2.02 wt%) is improved by 135% compared with Li+ doped MIL-100(Fe) (0.86 wt%) at 298 K and 50 bar, which is ascribed to its higher isosteric heat of adsorption (7.33 kJ/mol) resulting from its more accessible adsorption sites provided by doped Li+ ions and ultramicropores. Grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation reveals that Li+ ions distributing in the interface between MIL-100(Fe) and GO within MIL-100(Fe)/GO composite is favorable for hydrogen adsorption owing to the increased number of adsorption sites, thus contributing to the enhanced hydrogen storage capacity. These findings demonstrate that MIL-100(Fe)/GO is a more promising Li+ doping substrate than MIL-100(Fe).

The Enhanced Hydrogen Storage Capacity of Carbon Fibers: The Effect of Hollow Porous Structure and Surface Modification

In this study, highly porous carbon fiber was prepared for hydrogen storage. Porous carbon fiber (PCF) and activated porous carbon fiber (APCF) were derived by carbonization and chemical activation after selectively removing polyvinyl alcohol from a bi-component fiber composed of polyvinyl alcohol and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The chemical activation created more pores on the surface of the PCF, and consequently, highly porous APCF was obtained with an improved BET surface area (3058 m2 g−1) and micropore volume (1.18 cm3 g−1) compare to those of the carbon fiber, which was prepared by calcination of monocomponent PAN. APCF was revealed to be very efficient for hydrogen storage, its hydrogen capacity of 5.14 wt% at 77 K and 10 MPa. Such hydrogen storage capacity is much higher than that of activated carbon fibers reported previously. To further enhance hydrogen storage capacity, catalytic Pd nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the APCF. The Pd-deposited APCF exhibits a high hydrogen storage capacity of 5.45 wt% at 77 K and 10 MPa. The results demonstrate the potential of Pd-deposited APCF for efficient hydrogen storage.

Hydrogen Nanometrology in Advanced Carbon Nanomaterial Electrodes.

A comparative experimental study between advanced carbon nanostructured electrodes, in similar hydrogen uptake/desorption conditions, is investigated making use of the recent molecular beam-thermal desorption spectrometry. This technique is used for monitoring hydrogen uptake and release from different carbon electrocatalysts: 3D-graphene, single-walled carbon nanotube networks, multi-walled carbon nanotube networks, and carbon nanotube thread. It allows an accurate determination of the hydrogen mass absorbed in electrodes made from these materials, with significant enhancement in the signal-to-noise ratio for trace hydrogen avoiding recourse to ultra-high vacuum procedures. The hydrogen mass spectra account for the enhanced surface capability for hydrogen adsorption in the different types of electrode in similar uptake conditions, and confirm their enhanced hydrogen storage capacity, pointing to a great potential of carbon nanotube threads in replacing the heavier metals or metal alloys as hydrogen storage media.

Hydrogen Uptake and Release in Carbon Nanotube Electrocatalysts

The recent technique of molecular beam-thermal desorption spectrometry was used here for monitoring hydrogen uptake and release from carbon nanotube networks, after electrochemical hydrogen uptake. This way, an accurate determination of the hydrogen mass absorbed in electrodes made from those assemblies can be achieved by significantly improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The hydrogen desorption mass spectra account for the enhanced surface capability for hydrogen adsorption in the electrodes and enable a comparison with the performance of a palladium electrode in similar conditions. A comparative study involving different carbon nanotube electrodes, in similar hydrogen uptake/desorption conditions, clearly confirmed the expectations about their enhanced hydrogen storage capacity and points to the great potential of carbon nanotube assemblies in replacing the heavier metal alloys as electrocatalysts.

Lithium decoration characteristics for hydrogen storage enhancement in novel periodic porous graphene frameworks

Hydrogen storage in porous materials by physical adsorption is being discussed to provide widespread usage of hydrogen energy systems. One of the recent hydrogen storage media that store hydrogen physically is Porous Graphene Frameworks (PGFs). In the study, three different PGFs were constructed by using Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (BTC), 4,40,400-Benzene-1,3,5-triyltribenzoate (BTB) and 4,40,400-(benzene-1,3,5triyl-tris (benzene-4,1-diyl))tribenzoate (BBC) organic linkers. The geometries of the structures were optimized and lithium atoms were dispersed inside. Then, thirty-three different structures were derived. Finally, hydrogen storage capacities and surface areas of each structure were computed. It was found out that 160 lithium dispersed Graphene-BBC structure has the highest hydrogen storage capacity with 4.26 wt % at 298K and 100 bars while 70 lithium dispersed graphene-BTB structure store 9.81 wt % hydrogen at 77K and 4 bars, and lithium free graphene-BBC structure store 20,68 wt % hydrogen at 77K and 100 bars. Lithium dispersion enabled extra surfaces for Graphene-BTB and Graphene-BBC structures to the limits. But surface area of Graphene-BTC structure decreased with lithium dispersion. The number of limits for Graphene-BTB and Graphene-BBC named structures were 70 and 200 lithium atoms, respectively. At the final it is pointed out that constructed novel PGFs could store comparable and relatively high hydrogen in various conditions. The existence of lithium atoms played a minor role to enhance hydrogen storage capacity but the limits are critically important to reach maximum capacity.

Sodium alginate assisted preparation of oxygen-doped microporous carbons with enhanced electrochemical energy storage and hydrogen uptake

Microporous carbons with large oxygen content have been successful synthesized from biomass by the sodium alginate assisted strategy. During the activation process, the Na2O formed by the decomposition of sodium alginate combines with the activator KOH to undergo a redox reaction in situ with precursor, thereby forming a rich porosity in the samples. The obtained samples possess not only high SSA (2310~3001 m2 g−1) and large pore volume (0.89~1.19 cm3 g−1) arising almost completely (>90%) from micropores, but also retains a high content of oxygen (21.86~32.47 wt %). As supercapacitor electrodes, the oxygen-doped microporous carbons display a high specific capacitance of 385 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 with capacity stability of 91.5% after 20 000 cycles at 5 A g−1. As hydrogen storage materials, the oxygen-doped microporous carbons exhibit enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of 2.84 wt% (77 K, 1 bar) and 0.91 wt% (303 K, 50 bar). Experimental data indicate that this work provides a simple-efficient and universal strategy for preparing oxygen-doped microporous carbon for high-performance energy and hydrogen storage.

Nanoporous polymer-based composites for enhanced hydrogen storage

The exploration and evaluation of new composites possessing both processability and enhanced hydrogen storage capacity are of significant interest for onboard hydrogen storage systems and fuel cell based electric vehicle development. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of composite membranes with sufficient mechanical properties for enhanced hydrogen storage that are based on a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) matrix containing nano-sized fillers: activated carbon (AX21) or metal–organic framework (MIL-101). This is one of the first comparative studies of different composite systems for hydrogen storage and, in addition, the first detailed evaluation of the diffusion kinetics of hydrogen in polymer-based nanoporous composites. The composite films were characterised by surface area and porosity analysis, hydrogen adsorption measurements, mechanical testing and gas adsorption modelling. The PIM-1/AX21 composite with 60 wt% AX21 provides enhanced hydrogen adsorption kinetics and a total hydrogen storage capacity of up to 9.35 wt% at 77 K; this is superior to the US Department of Energy hydrogen storage target. Tensile testing indicates that the ultimate stress and strain of PIM-1/AX21 are higher than those of the MIL-101 or PAF-1 containing composites, and are sufficient for use in hydrogen storage tanks. The data presented provides new insights into both the design and characterisation methods of polymer-based composite membranes. Our nanoporous polymer-based composites offer advantages over powders in terms of safety, handling and practical manufacturing, with potential for hydrogen storage applications either as means of increasing storage or decreasing operating pressures in high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks.