In situ synthesis and hydrogen storage properties of PdNi alloy nanoparticles in an ordered mesoporous carbon template

Organized mesoporous carbon has been used as a nanoreactor to prepare PdNi metallic particles using an incipient wetness method starting from Pd and Ni salts. The final composite material consists of nanosized metallic particles of an alloy with composition Pd0.60Ni0.40 highly dispersed within the carbon host structure. The thermodynamic hydrogenation properties of both the PdNi-free OMC and the Pd0.60Ni0.40-OMC composite have been determined by hydrogen isotherm sorption measurements. The introduction of the palladium–nickel alloy into the carbon matrix does not increase the hydrogen storage capacity at 77 K and 2 MPa, since the hydrogen uptake is mainly attributed to physisorption on the carbon surface. However, at room temperature and moderate pressure (0.5 MPa), the filling of the OMC with nanocrystalline Pd0.60Ni0.40 results in larger hydrogen uptake than that of the PdNi-free OMC.