Enhanced hydrogen storage capacity of nanosized copper loaded active carbons treated under CO ₂

A kind of composites with nanosized Cu loaded on activated active carbons was prepared. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption. The highest surface area of 2746 m ²/g was obtained for the optimized activated active carbon. TEM image and size distribution analyses show that the ball-like Cu(0) particles are dispersed homogeneously in the composites with diameters of 1 0'-30 nm. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties were determined and an optimized discharge capacity of 605.5 mAh/g was gotten, which corresponds to 2.24 wt% of hydrogen uptake capacity.