MgH₂ nanoparticles confined in reduced graphene oxide pillared with organosilica: a novel type of hydrogen storage material

Hydrogen is a promising alternative fuel that can push forward the energy transition because of its high energy density (142 MJ kg⁻¹), variety of potential sources, low weight and low environmental impact, but its storage for automotive applications remains a formidable challenge. MgH₂, with its high gravimetric and volumetric density, presents a compelling platform for hydrogen storage; however, its utilization is hindered by the sluggish kinetics of hydrogen uptake/release and high temperature operation. Herein we show that a novel layered heterostructure of reduced graphene oxide and organosilica with high specific surface area and narrow pore size distribution can serve as a scaffold to host MgH₂ nanoparticles with a narrow diameter distribution around ∼2.5 nm and superior hydrogen storage properties to bulk MgH₂. Desorption studies showed that hydrogen release starts at relatively low temperature, with a maximum at 348 °C and kinetics dependent on particle size. Reversibility tests demonstrated that the dehydrogenation kinetics and re-hydrogenation capacity of the system remains stable at 1.62 wt% over four cycles at 200 °C. Our results prove that MgH₂ confinement in a nanoporous scaffold is an efficient way to constrain the size of the hydride particles, avoid aggregation and improve kinetics for hydrogen release and recharging.