Synthesis and characterization of some exotic hydrogen storage materials

Abstract

Energy is directly related to the currency of any nation. There is an ever newlineincreasing demand of energy (world population will increase by ~1.16 times till 2030 i.e. newlinefrom 7.3 billion in 2017 to ~8.5 billion in 2030) but unfortunately it is always in short newlinesupply and insufficient to match the unparalleled population explosion and our changing newlinelifestyle. Unlike other requirements, energy is required for survival itself and is required newlinein increasing amounts as the expectations of life i.e. living standards rise. As for example, newlinewe need increasing amounts of electricity (produced by using the fossil fuel coal) which newlineis used for a variety of purposes which are essential but also for purposes which improve newlinethe quality of life e.g. in I.T. (computers, smart mobile phones and several other IT newlinedevices). With the increasing demands of energy throughout the world, it can be expected newlinethat the availability of fossil fuels is depleting at an alarming rate. Furthermore, fossil newlinefuels are the main contributor of global warming and therefore, they have a detrimental newlineimpact on human health and environment. Paris convention held in December 2015 newlineasserted that a substantial fraction of reserves of coal, oil and gas will have to remain newlineunderground and unburned (Stranded Assets) in order to put a cap on CO2 emission newline(main cause of global warming) so as to keep the temperature rise within 2oC limit. newlineUnder these circumstances, we have to fall back more dominantly and perhaps solely on newlineenergy derived from carbon neutral fuel. Produced from water, hydrogen through newlinecombustion with atmospheric oxygen (hot combustion in IC engine, cold combustion in newlinefuel cell) burns back to water. It is thus completely renewable, non-exhaustible, newlineenvironment friendly and indigenous fuel. Thus hydrogen has the prospective to be a newlinemajor energy vector fulfilling all the requirement of renewable and sustainable newlinedevelopment.