Realizing a Carbon-Based Hydrogen Storage Material

In response to the current need for an efficient, safe, and compact system for storing hydrogen in mobile applications, a scheme for maximizing and controlling hydrogen storage in graphite is proposed by modifying substrate reactivity through the exploitation of intrinsic vibrational modes in pristine and fully-hydrogenated graphite systems. Calculations within density functional theory suggest that infrared radiation of distinct frequencies can be used to independently induce graphite lattice restructuring and recrystallization for promoting hydrogen uptake and discharge, respectively. Effects of the initial attachment of hydrogen on graphite sheets are discussed, with computational results showing that additional hydrogen adsorption can proceed through easier reaction routes.