In situ deposition of Pd nanoparticles with controllable diameters in hollow carbon spheres for hydrogen storage

•Synthesis of HCS and application Pd particle.•Characterization of used materials.•The H2 storage properties of new materials.•New applications of used materials.

A novel in situ synthesis of Pd nanoparticles supported in hollow carbon spheres (HCS) is reported. The size of the nanoparticles can be tuned via application of different Pd precursors. The hydrogen storage properties of Pd supported in HCS under room temperature were examined at partial pressures. We observed significant difference between the storage capacities of two samples containing Pd nanoparticles with different diameter distributions. The results showed that the sample with suitable diameters of Pd nanoparticles was more favorable for the H2 storage, even lower mass of Pd was used. The maximum hydrogen storage of 0.36 wt % exhibited the sample with Pd nanoparticles with the diameter of 11 nm (measured at 298 K and 24 bar) and it was enhanced by the factor of two in respect to the pristine HCS. The enhanced storage capacity is due to cumulative hydrogen adsorption by HCS and Pd nanoparticles. We also propose the mechanism of hydrogen storage in our material.