Making hydrogen stick

As part of ongoing research to make hydrogen a mainstream source of clean, renewable energy, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's

have determined how titanium atoms help hydrogen atoms attach to an aluminium surface.

Their study isolates the role of titanium, which is used as a catalyst in the crucial first step to trap hydrogen within a particular class of hydrogen-storage materials. The work may also help identify and develop similar hydrogen-storage systems.

Brookhaven chemist Santanu Chaudhuri recently presented this research at the 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

To be a mainstream source of fuel, hydrogen must be stored safely and efficiently. Conventional high-pressure storage tanks can be dangerous and are too big and heavy for certain applications, such as hydrogen-based fuel cells in automobiles. Hydrogen-storage materials, however, incorporate hydrogen safely and compactly, and temporarily hold large quantities of it that can be recovered easily under safe, controlled conditions.