A Radically New Method for Hydrogen Storage in Hollow Glass Microspheres

The primary goal of this project is to demonstrate that hydrogen gas can be rapidly extracted from hollow glass microspheres (HGMS) using a photo-induced heating effect. The results of the project demonstrate that diffusion of hydrogen is readily induced by exposure to light from an IR lamp in transition metal-doped HGMS filled to as much as 5,000 psi with hydrogen gas, which contain approximately 2.2 wt% hydrogen. Doped HGMS in conjunction with optically induced outgassing provide a solution to the traditional limitation of HGMS – i.e., the slow release of hydrogen from HGMS that are heated using a furnace. This information will also be invaluable in designing process changes for future production of HGMS able to hold higher pressures of hydrogen