Application of polyaspartic acid-based porous carbon loaded with bimetals Cu and Ni in hydrogen adsorption

This study investigated the effect of simultaneous loading of bimetals nickel and copper on the hydrogen adsorption performance of polyaspartic acid (PASP)-based porous carbon materials. Four groups of materials with different metal ratios, namely PASP-based porous carbon loaded with bimetals copper and nickel, were prepared. A two-step calcination process was adopted. First, PASP-based porous carbon was prepared, and then the bimetal solution was impregnated, followed by a second calcination. Through characterizations and analyses using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), it was confirmed that copper and nickel were successfully loaded and uniformly dispersed on the PASP-based porous carbon, mainly functioning in the elemental form. The results of the hydrogen adsorption test showed that C-PASP-Ni6/Cu4 had the best adsorption effect, with a maximum hydrogen adsorption capacity of up to 240.87 cm
3
g
-1
. Loading the bimetals copper and nickel can also significantly enhance the hydrogen storage capacity. Moreover, due to the relatively low price of copper, the cost is reduced while improving the performance.