According to foreign websites, researchers have found that the use of special carbon nanomaterials can absorb hydrogen at high density at medium temperature and pressure, which marks a major breakthrough in the field of efficient hydrogen storage. The study was led by Dr. Valeska, Department of Chemical Engineering, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and involved scientists from the United States and Germany. This research has been published in the authoritative journal ACS, which also means that future hydrogen storage research will focus on finding and using high-density solid hydrogen storage materials, rather than traditional liquid and gaseous hydrogen storage.

It is well known that hydrogen may be a low-carbon fuel for sustainable development, and it is expected to replace fossil fuels for mass transportation. However, hydrogen has to be stored in bulky high-pressure hydrogen storage bottles, and its high storage cost has become a major obstacle to the development of hydrogen energy.

Recent studies have found that hydrogen storage materials with sub-nanoporous have the strongest hydrogen storage capacity, and their hydrogen storage density ratio is higher than the existing hydrogen bottle storage methods. These materials, known as "molecular sponges", include activated carbon, zeolites, materials with metal-organic frameworks and porous polymer materials.

Researchers use inelastic neutron scattering technology to obtain the hydrogen state directly in solid materials and observe the interaction between hydrogen and solid materials. Observations show that the density of hydrogen stored in the new material is 1000 times higher than that at room temperature and pressure. Researchers say that a better understanding of nanostructured hydrogen storage materials and the determination of characterization methods of hydrogen storage properties will help to evaluate existing porous materials for future automotive hydrogen storage.