One-pot synthesis of Pd nanoparticles on ultrahigh surface area 3D porous carbon as hydrogen storage materials

Abstract Pd on three dimensional (3D) porous carbon (Pd/PC) has been one-pot synthesized via in situ potassium hydroxide activation of PdCl 6 2 − -exchanged resin for the first time. The anion-exchange resin not only anchors PdCl 6 2 − ions to obtain uniformly dispersed Pd nanoparticles but also acts as a carbon source. The Pd/PC composites exhibit an ultrahigh surface areas (2734–3316 m 2  g −1 ) and large pore volumes (1.789–1.991 cm 3  g −1 ). The excess hydrogen uptake of Pd/PC-850 reaches 4.6 wt% at 77 K and 20 bar. At room temperature, the hydrogen spillover process from Pd nanoparticles to the 3D activated porous carbon has been clearly observed. The 1.86 wt% Pd-containing composite (Pd/PC-850) displays a high hydrogen spillover enhancement (154%) at 298 K.