Hydrogen uptake in boron nitride nanotubes at room temperature.

Hydrogen uptake capacities of 1.8 and 2.6 wt % were obtained on BN multiwalled nanotubes and bamboo-like nanotubes, respectively, under approximately 10 MPa at room temperature. The preliminary results show that chemical interactions mainly take place between hydrogen and BN. Taking into consideration the uniform semiconducting electronic property and ultimate stable chemical and thermal stability, BN nanotubes may exhibit some interesting possibilities in storing hydrogen. This will also provide some viewpoints on designing the carbon-based hydrogen storage system.