Porous carbon-based materials for hydrogen storage: advancement and challenges

The development of highly efficient hydrogen storage materials is one of the main challenges that must be tackled in a widely expected hydrogen economy. Physisorption in porous materials with high surface areas and chemisorption in hydrides are the two main options for solid state hydrogen storage, and both options possess their inherent advantages and drawbacks. In this work, recent progress towards porous carbon-based materials for hydrogen storage is analyzed and reviewed. The hydrogen storage performance of plain porous carbons, metal-supported porous carbons and porous carbons confined hydrides is summarized. Some strategies for effectively controlling the hydrogen storage capacity and tuning the hydrogen adsorption enthalpy for porous carbon materials via appropriate manipulation of surface area, pore volume and pore size are discussed in detail. The new development of porous carbon-based materials for hydrogen storage is particularly emphasized.