Hongcai Joe Zhou talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Fast Breaking Paper in the field of
Environment/Ecology. The author has also sent along an
image of his work.
Article Title: The current status of hydrogen
storage in metal-organic frameworks
Authors: Zhao, D;Yuan,
DQ;Zhou,
HC
Journal: ENERGY ENVIRON SCI
Volume: 1
Issue: 2
Page: 222-235
Year: 2008
* Miami Univ, Dept Chem & Biochem, Oxford, OH 45056
USA.
* Miami Univ, Dept Chem & Biochem, Oxford, OH 45056
USA.
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
It is one of the first review papers focusing on hydrogen storage in
metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
Hydrogen
Storage in
Metal-Organic
Frameworks
(MOFs)...
It is a paper reviewing the most recently reported research in hydrogen
storage using MOFs, including the research results from my own research
group. It describes recent discoveries in this field of research.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
The paper summarizes the latest findings in the study of hydrogen storage
utilizing new inorganic-organic hybrid materials.
How did you become involved in this research, and were
there any problems along the way?
Our research in hydrogen storage has been supported by the US DOE through
the
Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence. We are still
trying to improve the hydrogen uptake at room temperature and applicable
pressure (50 to 100 bar).
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
Hydrogen storage research will eventually lead to the discovery of new
adsorptive materials that can store hydrogen near room temperature under
applicable pressure, paving the way for the ultimate commercialization of
hydrogen fuel-cell-driven vehicles.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for
your research?
If a breakthrough is achieved in this research area, hydrogen will become
the ultimate clean energy carrier for transportation because there will be
no pollutant released, the only end product of the energy-releasing
procedure being water!
Hong-Cai JOE Zhou, Professor
Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX, USA
Hydrogen Storage in Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs).
For any potential hydrogen-storage system for transportation, raw uptake
capacity must be balanced with the desirable kinetics and thermodynamics of
uptake and release. MOFs provide unique systems with large overall pore
volumes and surface areas, adjustable pore sizes, and tunable
framework–adsorbate interaction by ligand functionalization and metal
choice. These remarkable materials can potentially fill the niche between
other physisorbents such as activated carbon, which have similar uptake at
low temperatures but low affinity for hydrogen at ambient temperature, and
chemical sorbents such as hydrides, which have high hydrogen uptakes but
undesirable release kinetics and thermodynamics.
KEYWORDS: WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES; GAS SORPTION PROPERTIES;
HIGH H-2 ADSORPTION; MICROPOROUS COORDINATION POLYMERS; HIGH-CAPACITY
HYDROGEN; HIGH THERMAL-STABILITY; MOLECULAR-HYDROGEN; BUILDING-BLOCKS;
POROUS MATERIAL; SELECTIVE SORPTION.