Inelastic neutron scattering of H2 adsorbed in HKUST-1

A series of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) investigations of hydrogen adsorbed in activated HKUST-1 (Cu-3(1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate)(2)) result in INS spectra with rich features, even at very low loading (< 1.0 H-2:Cu). The distinct inelastic features in the spectra show that there are three binding sites that are progressively populated when the H-2 loading is less than 2.0 H-2:Cu, which is consistent with the result obtained from previous neutron powder diffraction experiments. The temperature dependence of the INS spectra reveals the relative binding enthalpies for H-2 at each site.