Rational Design of Nanosized Light Elements for Hydrogen Storage: Classes, Synthesis, Characterization, and Properties

Abstract Hydrogen is often considered as a technology for the future owing to the limitations of current hydrogen storage materials in powering fuel cell vehicles. However, with the first hydrogen vehicles on the road and the need for better energy storage systems to back up the increasing penetration of renewables, hydrogen‐based technologies will undoubtedly play an ever‐increasing role in future energy schemes. To support the uptake of hydrogen, the challenge is to design better materials than the ones currently available. This means materials capable of reversible hydrogen uptake and release close to the ambient and with a storage capacity approaching 10 wt%. To date, materials with high hydrogen capacity are known but the lack of approaches to fully control the properties of these materials toward the targets for practical application still remains the drawback. In this context, the approach of particle size reduction or nanosizing has recently emerged as a potential mean to gain full control over the properties of high capacity hydride materials. This review aims to summarize current understanding toward the synthesis of nanomaterials and the potential of current knowledge to aid with the synthesis of nanosized hydrides with properties that can ultimately enable hydrogen storage at the ambient.