HYDROGEN SORPTION OF MAGNESIUM OXIDE CARBON NANOFIBRE COMPOSITE

Carbon nanofibres have high specific surface area to adsorb hydrogen on their surface and are widely investigated for hydrogen storage. Although carbon nanofibres can store a considerable amount of hydrogen, the adsorption of the latter must be conducted at cryogenic conditions. Here, MgO is proposed as a catalyst to improve the hydrogen storage performance of carbon nanofibres at room temperature because of the light weight MgO and its ability to dissociate hydrogen molecules. The magnesium oxide– carbon nanofibre (MgO–CNF) composite was prepared with polivinylpyrrolidone polymer and MgO via an electrospinner. The samples were characterised with field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and microgravimetric analysis. The MgO particles were formed on the surface and embedded inside the MgO–CNFs, thereby increasing the specific surface area. The assynthesised MgO–CNFs with a specific surface area of 547 m/g can store 2.54 wt.% of hydrogen at room temperature, showing more than 30% improvement as compared with that of CNFs.