Solid-state hydrogen mainly comprises two categories i.e.

adsorption based storage (carbon nanotubes, metal

organic framework, etc.) and absorption storage (metal hydride, complex hydrides, etc.). In case of adsorption,
hydrogen is stored in the microscopic pores and within the tube structures, but for absorption, it chemically reacts
with alloy and get stored in the lattice of metal alloys forming metal hydride Amongst all the method of hydrogen
storage, solid-state hydrogen storage systems are reliable, volumetrically efficient and safest way to store hydrogen.

In this subtopic we’re going to see the following ways of storing hydrogen:
I. Adsorption based storage
II. Absorption based storage
(i) Metal hydrides
(ii) Metal complexes

ARTICLE NO 17, 19
The adsorption of a gas on a surface is a consequence of the field force at the surface of the solid, called the
adsorbent, which attracts the molecules of the gas or vapor, called adsorbate. The adsorption of gas molecules on
the surface of a solid are due fluctuations of the charge distributions and are therefore called dispersive interactions
or Van der Waals interactions. The calculations of hydrogen density in the slit-like model pores revealed that the
optimal hydrogen storage depended on the pore size, temperature, and pressure.The adsorption of hydrogen by
metals is called occlusion. As an example, hydrogen absorption by palladium is reversible and therefore has been
investigated as a form of hydrogen storage. Palladium is sometimes metaphorically called a "metal sponge" because
it soaks up hydrogen "like a sponge soaks up water". At room temperature and atmospheric pressure (standard
ambient temperature and pressure), palladium can absorb up to 900 times its own volume of hydrogen.

Physical adsorption
ARTICLE NO 16,19

(i) Metal Hydrides

The highest volumetric densities of hydrogen are found in metal hydrides. Volumetric density is the mass of a
substance per unit of volume. Many metals and alloys are capable of reversibly absorbing large amounts of
hydrogen. Charging can be done using molecular hydrogen gas (H2) or hydrogen atoms from an electrolyte. The
group one, two and three light metals (e.g. Li, Mg, B, Al) can combine with hydrogen to form a large variety of metal-
hydrogen complexes. These are especially interesting because of their light weight and because of the number of
hydrogen atoms per metal atom, which is two in many cases.

Hydrogen can also be stored indirectly in reactive metals such as Li, Na, Al or Zn. These metals easily react with
water to the corresponding hydroxide and liberate the hydrogen from the water.
LiH + H2O ———> LiOH + H2

H2 + O2 ———> H2O

Since water is the product of the combustion of hydrogen with either oxygen or air, it can be recycled in a closed loop
and react with the metal. Finally, the metal hydroxides can be thermally reduced to metals in a solar furnace.

For NaH, Although not commercially significant, sodium hydride has been proposed for hydrogen storage for use in
fuel cell vehicles.A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel and an oxidizing
agent into electricity through redox reactions. In one experimental implementation, plastic pellets containing NaH are
crushed in the presence of water to release the hydrogen. One challenge with this technology is the regeneration of
NaH from the NaOH formed by hydrolysis.

(ii) Metal Complexes

The main difference of the complex hydrides to the above described metallic hydrides is the transition to an ionic or
covalent compound of the metals upon hydrogen absorption.
The hydrogen in the complex hydrides is often located in the corners of a tetragon with boron or aluminum in the
center. The negative charge of the anion, [BH4 ]⁻ and [AlH4 ]⁻ is compensated by a cation e.g. Li or Na.
The hydride complexes of borane, the tetrahydroborate M(BH4), and tetrahydroaluminate M(AlH4) are interesting
storage materials, however, they were known to be stable and decompose only at elevated temperatures and often
above the melting point of the complex.

[The hydrogen revolution following the industrial age has just started. Hydrogen production, storage and conversion
has reached a technological level although plenty of improvements and new discoveries are still possible. The
hydrogen storage is often considered as the bottleneck of the renewable energy economy based on the synthetic
fuel hydrogen]