Hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures

The paper gives a critical review of the literature on hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures. Furthermore, the hydrogen storage of graphite, graphite nanofibers (GNFs), and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was measured by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The samples were ball milled under Ar or D-2 atmosphere in order to modify the microstructure which was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These investigations show a reversible hydrogen storage only for SWNTs and in addition indicate that an opening of the SWNTs is essential to reach high storage capacities. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.