Pore wall corrugation effect on the dynamics of adsorbed H 2 studied by in situ quasi elastic neutron scattering Observation of two timescaled diffusion

The self diffusion mechanisms for adsorbed H2 in different porous structures are investigated with in situ quasi elastic neutron scattering method at a temperature range from 50 K to 100 K and at various H2 loadings. The porous structures of the carbon materials have been characterized by sorption analysis with four different gases and the results are correlated with previous in depth analysis with small angle neutron scattering method. Thus, an investigation discussing the effect of pore shape and size on the nature of adsorbed H2 self diffusion is performed. It is shown that H2 adsorbed in nanometer scale pores is self diffusing in two distinguishable timescales. The effect of the pore, pore wall shape and corrugation on the fraction of confined and more mobile H2 is determined and analyzed. The increased corrugation of the pore walls is shown to have a stronger confining effect on the H2 motions. The difference of self diffusional properties of the two H2 components are shown to be smaller when adsorbed in smoother walled pores. This is attributed to the pore wall corrugation effect on the homogeneity of formed adsorbed layer

In Situ Observation of Pressure Modulated Reversible Structural Changes in the Graphitic Domains of Carbide Derived Carbons

Carbons are important in a multitude of applications, and thus, the reversible control of carbon structures is of high interest. Here we report the reversible formation of graphitic structures with three distinct interlayer distances in case of two carbide derived carbons CDCs loaded under hydrogen pressure observed with in situ neutron scattering methods. The formation of these graphitic structures determined with in situ neutron diffraction is brought forth by the confinement of H2 in the porous structure when the temperature, T, is increased from T 20 K to 50 K under H2 loading from 68 mbar to 10 bar. The confinement of the desorbing H2 causes the pressure to increase inside the CDC structure and this increase of pressure is the cause for the reversible formation of graphitic domains. The confinement of H2 at T 50 K is possible due to the presence of ultramicropores and suitable curved carbon structures. The three distinct formed graphitic domains correspond to a highly pressurized, conventional highly ordered graphitic, and disoriented graphitic domains with possible H2 H intercalation. In situ quasi elastic neutron scattering and gas adsorption methods are used to determine the H2 transport properties and interactions with the CDC