Induced defects in carbonaceous materials for hydrogen storage

The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier will require a means by which to transport and store hydrogen, yet no existing technology meets the performance requirements established by the DOE. Hydrogen storage reports in carbon-based materials vary widely; however, recent reports suggest that defects introduced during synthesis or heat treatment lead to an expanded graphite lattice and enhanced hydrogen storage in graphitic materials. The efficacy of certain a priori pretreatment methods to induce defects in graphitic materials and to expand the graphite lattice was studied. The extent of hydrogen uptake for carbon materials with induced defects was presented, and the results were used to test the hypothesis that defects lead to increased hydrogen storage. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 228th ACS National Meeting (Philadelphia, PA, 8/22-26/2004).