Title: Kinetic behaviour of a metal-polymer composite suitable for hydrogen storage applications

Authors: Eleonora Santecchia; Gianni Barucca; Giuseppe Majni; Paolo Mengucci; Riccardo Checchetto; Gianfranco Carotenuto

Addresses: Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell'Ambiente ed Urbanistica (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy ' Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell'Ambiente ed Urbanistica (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy ' Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell'Ambiente ed Urbanistica (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy ' Dipartimento di Scienze e Ingegneria della Materia, dell'Ambiente ed Urbanistica (SIMAU), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, I-60131 Ancona, Italy ' Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Povo (TN), Italy ' Institute for Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council, Piazzale Vincenzo Tecchio 80, I-80125 Napoli, Italy

Abstract: Hydrogen storage in composite materials is a feasible way to overcome the main drawbacks of the metal hydride systems. In the present paper, we report on the hydrogenation properties of three polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-palladium composite samples with different content of metallic fraction (5, 15, 50 in wt.%). Hydrogenation tests in different conditions of temperature and pressure were performed using a Sievert's type apparatus, while the microstructure of the samples was characterised by means of scanning electron microscopy observations and X-ray diffraction measurements. Results show that the hydrogen storage capacity is inversely proportional to the metallic content in the composite samples.

Keywords: hydrogen storage; metal-polymer composites; Pd nanoparticles; HRSEM; XRD; kinetic behaviour; palladium; nanotechnology; hydrogenation; polydimethylsiloxane; PDMS; microstructure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2014.063792

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2014 Vol.11 No.9/10/11, pp.829 - 842

Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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