Absorbing step

A class of materials developed at UCLA could bring the 'hydrogen economy' a step closer by solving a problem that has so far eluded scientists: bulk storage of the gas.

If cars and other vehicles are to run on hydrogen, there must be a safe, easy way of keeping the volatile gas, which can be filled and emptied quickly, and preferably doesn't need extreme cooling or pressurisation.

The

has estimated that any hydrogen storage material must be able to store at least 6.5 per cent by weight of hydrogen. Previous research has found materials that can manage concentrations of around 2.5 per cent, but anything above that has, until now, proved impossible.

UCLA chemist Omar Yaghi, who specialises in materials that can absorb gases, now believes he has the key to solving the problem. Yaghi, who has been working with highly porous substances called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), claims to have found a material that can absorb 7.5 per cent of its weight in hydrogen, albeit at low temperatures.