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Vol. 18 (2026)

Solid–State Hydrogen Storage Materials with Excellent Selective Hydrogen Adsorption in the Presence of Alkanes, Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide by Atomic Layer Amorphous Al2O3 Encapsulation

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01934-7
Fanqi Bu
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Zhenyu Wang
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Ali Wajid
School of Chemistry, Xi’an Key Laboratory of Sustainable Energy Materials Chemistry, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, People’s Republic of China
Rui Zhai
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Ting Liu
Aviation Engineering School, Air Force Engineering University, Xi’an 710038, People’s Republic of China
Yaohua Li
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Xin Ji
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Xin Liu
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Shujiang Ding
School of Chemistry, Xi’an Key Laboratory of Sustainable Energy Materials Chemistry, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, People’s Republic of China
Yonghong Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China
Jinying Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Center of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy (CNRE), School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Jinying Zhang

jinying.zhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 78

Abstract

Metal hydrides with high hydrogen density provide promising hydrogen storage paths for hydrogen transportation. However, the requirement of highly pure H2 for re-hydrogenation limits its wide application. Here, amorphous Al2O3 shells (10 nm) were deposited on the surface of highly active hydrogen storage material particles (MgH2–ZrTi) by atomic layer deposition to obtain MgH2–ZrTi@Al2O3, which have been demonstrated to be air stable with selective adsorption of H2 under a hydrogen atmosphere with different impurities (CH4, O2, N2, and CO2). About 4.79 wt% H2 was adsorbed by MgH2–ZrTi@10nmAl2O3 at 75 °C under 10%CH4 + 90%H2 atmosphere within 3 h with no kinetic or density decay after 5 cycles (~ 100% capacity retention). Furthermore, about 4 wt% of H2 was absorbed by MgH2–ZrTi@10nmAl2O3 under 0.1%O2 + 0.4%N2 + 99.5%H2 and 0.1%CO2 + 0.4%N2 + 99.5%H2 atmospheres at 100 °C within 0.5 h, respectively, demonstrating the selective hydrogen absorption of MgH2–ZrTi@10nmAl2O3 in both oxygen-containing and carbon dioxide-containing atmospheres hydrogen atmosphere. The absorption and desorption curves of MgH2–ZrTi@10nmAl2O3 with and without absorption in pure hydrogen and then in 21%O2 + 79%N2 for 1 h were found to overlap, further confirming the successful shielding effect of Al2O3 shells against O2 and N2. The MgH2–ZrTi@10nmAl2O3 has been demonstrated to be air stable and have excellent selective hydrogen absorption performance under the atmosphere with CH4, O2, N2, and CO2.


Highlights:
1 Gas selective amorphous Al2O3 encapsulation was constructed on highly reactive MgH2 using atomic layer deposition.
2 Hydrogen selective adsorption was achieved in the impure hydrogen atmosphere containing impurities (O2, N2, CH4, and CO2).
3 Excellent air stability with no MgO or Mg(OH)2 generated after 3 months of air exposure was achieved.

Keywords

Hydrogen storage Magnesium hydrides Selective hydrogen adsorption Air stability Amorphous Al2O3 shells
Bu, Fanqi, Zhenyu Wang, Ali Wajid, Rui Zhai, Ting Liu, Yaohua Li, Xin Ji, Xin Liu, Shujiang Ding, Yonghong Cheng, and Jinying Zhang. 2025. “Solid–State Hydrogen Storage Materials With Excellent Selective Hydrogen Adsorption in the Presence of Alkanes, Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide by Atomic Layer Amorphous Al2O3 Encapsulation”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (October):78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01934-7.
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