A synthesis method for cobalt doped carbon aerogels with high surface area and their hydrogen storage properties

Carbon aerogels doped with nanoscaled Co particles were prepared by first coating activated carbon aerogels using a wet-thin layer coating process. The resulting metal-doped carbon aerogels had a higher surface area (∼1667 m2 g−1) and larger micropore volume (∼0.6 cm3 g−1) than metal-doped carbon aerogels synthesised using other methods suggesting their usefulness in catalytic applications. The hydrogen adsorption behaviour of cobalt doped carbon aerogel was evaluated, displaying a high ∼4.38 wt.% H2 uptake under 4.6 MPa at −196 °C. The hydrogen uptake capacity with respect to unit surface area was greater than for pure carbon aerogel and resulted in ∼1.3 H2 (wt. %) per 500 m2 g−1. However, the total hydrogen uptake was slightly reduced as compared to pure carbon aerogel due to a small reduction in surface area associated with cobalt doping. The improved adsorption per unit surface area suggests that there is a stronger interaction between the hydrogen molecules and the cobalt doped carbon aerogel than for pure carbon aerogel.