Introduction

Hydrogen is widely billed as the fuel of the future. For this to be a reality there is a pressing need for a safe, economic and reliable way to transport hydrogen, particularly for automotive applications. This has prompted a world-wide effort to develop novel materials that are re-usable and capable of storing and releasing significant (> 6 wt%) quantities of hydrogen. 

In addition to compressed (either liquid or gaseous) hydrogen, two main themes are being explored: adsorption of hydrogen by materials and “chemical hydrogen” where hydrogen is reacted with a material. 

The discussion focussed on both themes, from synthesis and characterisation to application of such novel materials. The focus was on the wider issues involved in synthetic routes, characterisation, materials properties, rather than simply on examples. The importance of the interplay of theory and experiment was stressed.

Aims

Faraday Discussion 151, organised by the Faraday Division, brought together the diverse range of workers in the field of hydrogen storage materials, from those involved in materials discovery and characterisation, to those studying mechanisms or developing applications. The Discussion informed people of alternative strategies and encourage new ideas and approaches.

Themes

• Application of theory and spectroscopic methods to understand hydrogenation/dehydrogenation mechanisms 
• Novel approaches such as catalysed hydrogenation/dehydrogenation of organic molecules, encapsulation of nanosized materials in carbon or polymers 
• Chemical hydrogen: characterisation and properties of main group and transition metal borohydrides and alanates, ternary and quaternary metal hydrides, reactive hydride composites 
• Adsorbed/physisorbed hydrogen on or in MOFs, promoted carbons and other materials with large internal or external surface area 
• Applications including uses for automotives and novel battery materials 

Co-sponsor

We would like to thank the Institute of Physics Materials and Characterisation Group for their co-sponsorship support of Faraday Discussion 151.

 

Sponsorship

We would like to thank the following companies for their generous support of Faraday Discussion 151. Cella Energy have sponsored the pre-dinner drinks reception on the Tuesday evening.

Exhibitors

The following company will be exhibiting at FD151.

Scientific Committee

Dr Stewart Parker (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK) (Chair) 
Dr Alvaro Amieiro-Fonseca (Johnson Matthey, UK)
Professor Duncan Gregory (Glasgow, UK)
Professor Dag Noreus (Stockholm, Sweden)
Professor Klaus Yvon (Geneva, Switzerland)