The increased adoption of hydrogen fuel cells for electric vehicle propulsion rests on the advancement of appropriate hydrogen storage systems. Porous metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been the focus of such technology development, as these materials offer scope for gaseous fuel storage at high capacities, which can Measured usable hydrogen storage capacities of MOFs in terms of volumetric basis. Capacities are reported for an isothermal pressure swing at 77 K between 5 and 100 bar. Source: A. Ahmed et al./Nature Communicationssupport extended vehicle driving range. A computational method to streamline the analysis of and identification of desired MOF properties has been devised by the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company researchers.

After information on available MOFs was first compiled into a database, high-throughput computer simulations were conducted to examine the resulting databank of nearly 500,000 candidates for those with promising capacities.

Three materials were identified that could surpass the record previously set by the isoreticular MOF-20 material for hydrogen storage. Synthesis and testing of these MOFs — SNU-70, UMCM-9 and PCN-610/NU-100 — demonstrated that all were high-capacity materials with usable, pressure-swing capacities surpassing that of MOF-20.

The study, published in Nature Communications, indicates a new, higher volumetric ceiling at a capacity of ~40 g of hydrogen/L. Exceeding this figure under usable, pressure-swing conditions is proposed as a new capacity target for hydrogen adsorbents.