Methylbenzyl Naphthalene: Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier for Facile Hydrogen Storage and Release

Purna Chandra Rao, Yongseok Kim, Hyeonsu Kim, Younghu Son, Yuyeol Choi, Kyungsu Na, Minyoung Yoon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new homocyclic methylbenzyl naphthalene (MBN) compound has been developed as a novel liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) medium with a high gravimetric hydrogen storage capacity of 6.44 wt % and good dehydrogenation ability. According to the results of theoretical calculations of designed MBN, MBN media possesses one of the lowest dehydrogenation enthalpies (<56 kJ molH2-1) among homocyclic LOHC media. The Friedel-Craft alkylation reaction allows the formation of an MBN regioisomeric mixture, which minimizes the production cost for practical applications. This mixture exists as a liquid with a high boiling point (>623 K) at ambient temperature. The H2 storage efficiency of MBN was optimized to achieve a yield of greater than 99% using a new Ru-based catalyst. The reaction monitoring study suggests the stepwise hydrogenation reaction of aromatic rings, which allows the proposed hydrogenation mechanism. The extraction of H2 from hydrogen-rich H16-MBN was conducted via a dehydrogenation reaction (yield > 99%) using a Pt/CeO2 catalyst, which enabled fast H2 release. The faster and facile dehydrogenation of MBN compared to the other reported homocyclic LOHC media coincides with the theoretical calculation results.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12656-12666
Number of pages11
JournalACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Volume11
Issue number34
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Aug 2023

Keywords

  • Friedel−Crafts alkylation
  • homocyclic aromatics
  • hydrogen storage
  • Liquid organic hydrogen carrier
  • Regioisomeric mixture

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