Ball-milled carbon and hydrogen storage

We report the formation of carbon in different nanoparticle forms obtained by ball-milling of graphitic carbon. Ball-milling of graphite was carried out in Szegvari attritor at room temperature for varied times i.e. 24, 48 and 100 h in hexane medium. The characterization of ball-milled graphitic carbon (BMC) samples was done by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The self-coagulated carbon agglomerates were obtained for the case of 24 and 100 h BMC samples. The formation of coiled nanotubes and nanofibres was observed in the BMC sample. The BMC samples with and without nickel (Ni) catalyst were subjected to hydrogenation cycling in a Sievertʹs type apparatus fabricated in our laboratory. It has been found that BMC sample can adsorb hydrogen. The hydrogen adsorption capacity has been found to be ∼0.6 wt%.