Filler Up with Fullerenes

A new study in nanotechnology gives hope to solving the hydrogen storage problem. The safety concerns of storing hydrogen under high pressures is well documented, so many scientists have been working on storing the gas under low pressure methods. So far, chemical storage and storage with metal hydrides offers hope in this area.

Now, there may be another choice as scientists are working on storing hydrogen molecules inside of large molecular “nanocages” called fullerenes. Of particular interest is the H2@C60 fullerene where many small molecules or hydrogen are stored inside a large carbon nano structure.

Early work on the hydrogen fullerene were conducted by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan. More recent studies are being performed at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

One day we may just be saying “Fill it up with fullerenes.’ Advancements in nanotechnology such as this will be leading us into a very bright hydrogen economy within the not so distant future.