AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Nanometer-Scale Science and Technology Friday Sessions
       Session NS-FrM

Paper NS-FrM2
Hydrogenation of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Friday, November 4, 2005, 8:40 am, Room 210

Session: Nanotube Processing and Properties
Presenter: A.S. Nikitin, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Authors: A.S. Nikitin, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
H. Ogasawara, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
D. Mann, Stanford University
Z. Zhang, Stanford University
H. Dai, Stanford University
K.J. Cho, Stanford University
A. Nilsson, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
The hydrogenation of the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCN) is considered as a mechanism of hydrogen storage in the nanotube materials. We present the hydrogenation of the single wall carbon nanotube films with an atomic hydrogen beam. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we demonstrated that C-C bonds in the walls of SWCN decrease of sp@super 2@ character and increase of sp@super 3@ character simultaneously due to hydrogenation. On the basis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results combined with theoretical calculations, we show 65+/-15% hydrogenation of carbon atoms in the SWCN films that corresponds to 5.1+/-1.2 wt % hydrogen weight capacity of the studied sample. The formed C-H bonds are stable at ambient temperature and can be broken in the temperature range from 300°C to 600°C. These results clearly demonstrate that a chemical interaction mechanism of hydrogen with SWCN is possible with a large hydrogen storage capacity.