Low-temperature thermal-desorption mass spectroscopy applied to investigate the hydrogen adsorption on porous materials

Hydrogen adsorption on single-walled carbon nanotubes and activated carbon was investigated using thermal-desorption spectroscopy at temperatures down to 20 K. This powerful technique allows to identify the adsorption sites of H2 and to determine quantitatively the amount of hydrogen stored in these materials. For single-walled carbon nanotubes two distinct adsorption sites could be identified, while the H2 desorption spectrum of activated carbon reflects the disordered texture of the adsorbent by a broad maximum.