Nanostructured composites of mesoporous carbons and boranates as hydrogen storage materials

Nanoconfinement of hydride compounds is receiving considerable attention as an effective method to alleviate the unfavourable thermodynamic properties of complex hydrides hindering their technological application in hydrogen storage. In this work wet-chemistry routes are employed for the incorporation of NaBH4 and Mg(BH4)2 particles in the porous network of an ordered mesoporous carbon scaffold offering uniform pores with a primary size of 3.5 nm, high surface area and large pore volume. The successful in all cases confinement of the two hydrides leads clearly to a noticeable improvement of their thermal decomposition properties, supporting the direct correlation between particle size and hydrogen delivery performance.

Research highlights▶ We use wet impregnation for the confinement of NaBH4 and Mg(BH4)2 particles in the pores of an ordered mesoporous carbon. ▶ The nanocomposites have improved thermal decomposition properties compared to the bulk hydrides. ▶ The results support the positive effect of nanosizing on the H2 delivery performance of hydrides.