Porous grape-like spherical silica with hydrogen storage capability, synthesized using neutral dual surfactants as templates

By using two non-ionic surfactants, 1,12-diaminododecane and a triblock copolymer surfactant F127, as templates, grape-like solid spheres of super-microporous silica (SMS) with ordered, worm-like pore structures have been successfully synthesized, then characterized by SEM/TEM, XRD, TG/DTA, etc. In a sample synthesized at 70 °C, well-formed grape-like spheres with worm-like pores were observed by SEM and TEM. The average pore size is ca. 1.87 nm and the specific surface area of the spheres is 865 m2/g. The hydrogen storage capacity of the sample Pd/SMS-70-C, prepared by supporting 5 wt% palladium on SMS (synthesized at 70 °C), is up to 2.56 wt% at 1.2 MPa hydrogen pressure.