Beryllium-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes with Stone-Wales defects: A promising material to store hydrogen at room temperature

Abstract

Hydrogen storage in single-walled carbon nanotubes containing the Stone-Wales defects and doped with metal atoms (titanium and beryllium) has been studied using molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations. Although, Be is known to be toxic at high temperatures, Be-doped SWCNT shows a promising potential to exceed the DOE target at moderate temperatures and pressures. One of the major advantages of doping Be is its lower atomic weight, which increases the gravimetric storage capacity compared to SWCNTs doped with heavy-wight Ti atoms. In addition, the binding energy of Be is higher than that of Ti, which enhances the capture of hydrogen molecules. The gravimetric and volumetric storage capacities depend not only on the dopant atom but also on the location of doping. SWCNTs in which Be is doped on the octagonal ring of the Stone-Wales defects exhibits higher storage capacity than Be doped on defect-free SWCNTs. At room temperature (298 K), the storage capacity of Be-doped SWCNT containing the Stone-Wales defect exceeds the DOE target of 5.5 wt% (gravimetric) and 40 g H2/L (volumetric) at a pressure of 267 atm, which is significantly lower than that used in high pressure vessels.