Electrochemical hydrogen storage and recovery in graphene oxide for synthetic fuels applications

Per molecule, hydrogen can store one of the largest amounts
of chemical energy. This energy can be transformed into electricity in
an environmentally clean procedure using a fuel cell. However,
the challenge of storing such hydrogen in a small volume, as well as
the lack of a hydrogen distribution infrastructure represent
major drawbacks for a deployment of a hydrogen-based economy. In the
ONPV research group, in the framework of the LESGO project, we explore
H atoms storage by chemically binding them to the carbon atoms of a 2-
dimensional graphene like lattice, exploiting the safe and
high hydrogen storage capacity provided by such graphene like
structures. Graphene oxide dispersed in aqueous electrolytes present a
promising path to electrochemically split water and bind the protons so
the final product is a liquid, with all of its distribution and
storage advantages. Particular emphasis is placed on the study of
the dynamical evolution of the lattice morphology by FTIR and
Raman spectroscopy which is key to achieve a stable H storage and
to identify the speciffic sites where this binding happens.
Comparing these results with the computationally simulated ones aims at
finding best lattice deformation configurations, extrinsic catalytic
atoms incorporation and electrolyte environment to maximize overall
energy balance for storage, as well as the reverse process of H
desorption as H2.