The electrochemical hydrogen storage of CNTs synthesized by CVD using LaNi5 alloy particles as catalyst and treated with different temperature in nitrogen

The multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using LaNi5 alloy particles as catalyst. The effect of 40–60 nm MWNTs treated with different temperature in nitrogen on the electrochemical properties of CNTs–Ni electrode were investigated. Three-electrode system was introduced for testing electrochemical hydrogen storage of the electrode. The CNTs–Ni electrodes were used as the working electrode, which were prepared by mixing MWNTs and Ni powder in a weight ratio of 1:10 (MWNTs:Ni). Ni(OH)2/NiOOH worked as the counter electrode and Hg/HgO as the reference electrode. A 6 mol/L KOH solution acted as the electrolyte. MWNTs treated with different temperature in nitrogen ambient represented a great discrepancy in the electrochemical hydrogen storage capability under the same testing condition. The CNTs–Ni electrodes with 40–60 nm diameter CNTs which were treated in a temperature of 800 °C in nitrogen has the best electrochemical hydrogen storage capacity of 588.1 mAh/g and a corresponding discharging plateau voltage of 1.18 V. From 500 to 800 °C, the higher temperature the MWNTs treated, the better the electrochemical hydrogen storage property of them is. This shows that the temperature of treatment is an important factor that influences electrochemical hydrogen storage performance of MWNTs.