H_2 absorption at ambient conditions by anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) pattern-transferred Pd nanotubes occluded by Mg nanoparticles

摘要

The anodized alumina oxide (AAO) pattern-transferred Pd nanotubes occluded by Mg nanoparticles were easily manufactured by the use of vacuum evaporation technique at room temperature. The nanostruc-tures were subjected to the H_2 absorption at ambient conditions. The material can absorb H_2 very fast (the equilibration between the hydrogen gas and within the material at each target pressure occurs in a time shorter than 110s) reaching approximately 1 wt.% of H_2 at only 0.4 kPa of H_2 pressure. At 100 kPa the system absorbs up to 2 wt.% of H_2 at room temperature. After hydrogenation a drastic change in the structure and morphology of the nanostructures, as an effect of the metal lattice expansion in all three dimensions, was observed which was characterized by the appearance of a regular array of columns with a substantial increase in volume as compared to the nanostructures before hydrogenation. The application of the system in a potential hydrogen sensing device is envisaged.