28 Feb 2008
Discovery paves way for 'affordable and environmentally-friendly hydrogen vehicle'
The findings of a study conducted by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science could one day lead to commercially practical designs of storage materials for use in hydrogen gas fuelled vehicles, it has been claimed.
The study, which appeared on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) web site on February 27th, expands on the finding in 1997 that adding titanium to sodium alanate not only lowers the temperature of hydrogen release from the material but also allows for an easy refuelling and storage of high density hydrogen at reasonable pressures and temperatures.
According to Vidvuds Ozolins, associate professor of material science and engineering, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute and lead author of the study, nobody really understood what the titanium did.
However, the researchers have now been able to identify a reaction mechanism that is essential for the extraction of hydrogen from the material which involves diffusion of aluminium ions within the bulk of the hydride.
Armed with this knowledge, the analysis of other materials that would make for better storage systems than sodium alanate can be undertaken, Hakan Gunaydin, a UCLA graduate student in Ozolins' lab and another one of the study's authors, said.
The study was funded by the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uoc--urs022608.php
© Adfero Ltd
The study, which appeared on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) web site on February 27th, expands on the finding in 1997 that adding titanium to sodium alanate not only lowers the temperature of hydrogen release from the material but also allows for an easy refuelling and storage of high density hydrogen at reasonable pressures and temperatures.
According to Vidvuds Ozolins, associate professor of material science and engineering, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute and lead author of the study, nobody really understood what the titanium did.
However, the researchers have now been able to identify a reaction mechanism that is essential for the extraction of hydrogen from the material which involves diffusion of aluminium ions within the bulk of the hydride.
Armed with this knowledge, the analysis of other materials that would make for better storage systems than sodium alanate can be undertaken, Hakan Gunaydin, a UCLA graduate student in Ozolins' lab and another one of the study's authors, said.
The study was funded by the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/uoc--urs022608.php
© Adfero LtdSource: Adfero