Zeolite as material for hydrogen storage in transport applications

For transport needs the hydrogen is mostly stored in a compressed (at 350-700 bars) form, while methods for its storage at lower pressures are rapidly developing. In particular, nanoporous oxides and zeolites, which do not normally absorb notable amount of hydrogen, with a small Pd additive or ion exchange demonstrate enhanced hydrogen adsorption properties. An original thermogravimetric method has been developed to study the hydrogen adsorption in zeolite, consisting of its heating in the inert gas (argon, nitrogen) flow and cooling in the hydrogen atmosphere. It is found that natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) with Mg-ion exchange possesses a high adsorption capacity for hydrogen - up to 6.2 wt%, which is explained by its encapsulation in zeolite pores. The FTIR spectra of the hydrogen-treated samples have shown new absorption bands at 2340 and 2360 cm^-1.