ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Deep Inelastic Neutron Scattering to quantify confined hydrogen in storage materials

Abstract: Microporous materials (pore sizes < 2 nm), in particular, have proven to be effective H2 storage systems due to their high surface areas and small pores, which promote strong interactions with H2. Among them, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have been widely studied. ZIF-8, which is constructed from tetrahedral Zn2+ ions bridged by 2-methylimidazole ligands, can adsorb 36 g of H2 L-1 at 100 bar and 77 K (Figure 1a). This system is known to be highly stable and an excellent candidate for commercial H2 storage technology. Whilst total capacity (H2 uptake) is a vital performance parameter for H2 storage materials, it is also important that the H2 be released again. Our recent work suggests that ZIF-8 does not completely desorb stored H2, with a significant portion of H2 being ?immobile? and remaining in the system after the release step, leading to inefficient fuel delivery. This project will use deep inelastic neutron scattering (DINS) to explore strongly bound, immobile H2 in ZIF-8, as the pressure of H2 decreases, simulating a desorption process. Specifically, data on ZIF-8 under H2 pressures of 20, 10, 5, 3, and 1 bar will be compared with the empty system. Under these conditions, the quantities of both free and immobile H2 will be determined as a function of pressure, providing valuable insight into the release mechanism of H2 storage materials.

Principal Investigator: Dr Sanjit Nayak
Experimenter: Dr Sebastien Rochat
Local Contact: Dr Andrew Seel
Experimenter: Miss Lila Mahmoud
Experimenter: Mrs Sneha Suresh
Experimenter: Professor Valeska Ting
Experimenter: Mr Runqiu Zhu
Experimenter: Dr Matthew Potter
Experimenter: Dr Alin Elena
Experimenter: Professor Mi Tian

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520058

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2520058

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Sanjit Nayak et al; (2026): Deep Inelastic Neutron Scattering to quantify confined hydrogen in storage materials, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520058

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.