Adsorption

Supramolecular chemistry

Engineering

Crystal (programming language)

Biology

Crystal engineering

Materials science

Crystal structure

Bar (unit)

Computer science

Chemical engineering

Hydrogen storage

Genetics

Hydrogen

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Sphere packing

Metal-organic framework

Composite material

Crystal growth

Morphology (biology)

Crystallography

Chemistry

Programming language

Meteorology

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for hydrogen storage that fail to achieve expected theoretical values of volumetric storage density due to poor powder packing. A strategy that improves packing efficiency and volumetric hydrogen gas storage density dramatically through engineered morphologies and controlled-crystal size distributions is presented that holds promise for maximizing storage capacity for a given MOF. The packing density improvement, demonstrated for the benchmark sorbent MOF-5, leads to a significant enhancement of volumetric hydrogen storage performance relative to commercial MOF-5. System model projections demonstrate that engineering of crystal morphology/size or use of a bimodal distribution of cubic crystal sizes in tandem with system optimization can surpass the 25 g/L volumetric capacity of a typical 700 bar compressed storage system and exceed the DOE targets 2020 volumetric capacity (30 g/L). Finally, a critical link between improved powder packing density and reduced damage upon compaction is revealed leading to sorbents with both high surface area and high density.

Optimizing Hydrogen Storage in MOFs through Engineering of Crystal Morphology and Control of Crystal Size