Preparation, characterization, and hydrogen storage capacity of MIL-53 metal-organic frameworks.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered as most promising candidate for hydrogen storage material for practical application. MIL-53(Cr) MOFs were synthesized from Cr(NO3)3 x 9H2O combined with terephthalic acid organic linker. MIL-53(Cr) MOFs are octahedral in shape and the particle size was around 10 microm identified by FE-SEM. The cleaning of the MOFs crystals with different solvents at different warm temperature were found effective and approved to increase the specific surface area and porosity of MIL-53(Cr) MOFs. The XRD patterns represented that MIL-53(Cr) MOFs had well crystalline structures. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms show that Mil-53(Cr) has approximately type-I isotherm with a highest BET specific surface area of 1946 m2 g(-1) after treated with hot methanol. Hydrogen adsorption study shows that this material can store 0.45 wt.% of H2 measured at 303 K and 32 bar. The pre-edge XANES spectra confirm the existence of Cr(III) in crystalline framework of MIL-53(Cr) and the sharp feature at 6007 eV in XANES spectra represents the dipole-allowed electron transition from 1s to 4p(xy). In addition, EXAFS spectra indicate that MIL-53(Cr) metal organic frameworks structure has the Cr-O bond distance of 1.96 angstroms with a coordination number of 5.4.

Hydrogen generation using a CuO/ZnO-ZrO2 nanocatalyst for autothermal reforming of methanol in a microchannel reactor.

In the present work, a microchannel reactor for autothermal reforming of methanol using a synthesized catalyst porous alumina support-CuO/ZnO mixed with ZrO2 sol washcoat has been developed and its fine structure and inner surface characterized. Experimentally, CuO/ZnO and alumina support with ZrO2 sol washcoat catalyst (catalyst slurries) nanoparticles is the catalytically active component of the microreactor. Catalyst slurries have been dried at 298 K for 5 h and then calcined at 623 K for 2 h to increase the surface area and specific pore structures of the washcoat catalyst. The surface area of BET N2 adsorption isotherms for the as-synthesized catalyst and catalyst/ZrO2 sol washcoat samples are 62 and 108 ± 2 m²g⁻¹, respectively. The intensities of Cu content from XRD and XPS data indicate that Al2O3 with Cu species to form CuAl2O4. The EXAFS data reveals that the Cu species in washcoat samples have Cu-O bonding with a bond distance of 1.88 ± 0.02 Å and the coordination number is 3.46 ± 0.05, respectively. Moreover, a hydrogen production rate of 2.16 L h⁻¹ is obtained and the corresponding methanol conversion is 98% at 543 K using the CuO/ZnO with ZrO2 sol washcoat catalyst.