Effect of morphology on the hydrogen storage capacity of sol-gel synthesized Ce-Y-O nanostructures

Different morphologies of active materials affect hydrogen storage performance. Therefore, engineering the active materials through changes in synthesis conditions can result in changes in their size and morphology. A sol-gel process assisted by trimessic acid was used to synthesize the nanostructured Ce2Y2O7. Five different morphologies were generated. Under the same conditions, charge-discharge chronopotentiometry tests were performed in order to compare the effect of Ce2Y2O7 nanostructures on hydrogen storage capacity in KOH electrolyte at a current of 1 mA. The results indicate that the highest capacity is attributed to the very thin nanoribbons (643 mAhg(-1)) while the lowest capacity is attributed to the agglomerated ribbons assembled with particles (276 mAhg(-1)).

Automated summary

The morphologies of active materials have an impact on hydrogen storage performance. Changing the synthesis conditions can modify the size and morphology of active materials. Nanostructured Ce2Y2O7 with five different morphologies was synthesized using a sol-gel process assisted by trimessic acid. Charge-discharge chronopotentiometry tests were conducted under the same conditions to compare the effects of Ce2Y2O7 nanostructures on hydrogen storage capacity in KOH electrolyte at a current of 1 mA. The results show that the highest capacity is observed in very thin nanoribbons (643 mAhg(-1)), while the lowest capacity is found in agglomerated ribbons assembled with particles (276 mAhg(-1)).