Micron Size Platelets that Exhibit Unique Catalytic Properties for Hydrogen Storage

摘要

The development of nanotechnology appl ications has led to a class of new materials that exhibit performance enhancements that are often several orders of magnitude greater than conventional materials. Nanotechnology can take several forms but the area that is finding some of the broadest application and interest is the fabrication and utilization of nanopar-ticles. These nanoparticles are generally spherical in shape with a diameter of less than 100nm. While these spherical nanoparticles exhibit unique properties, the material handling, incorporation into a useful system, and potential health and environmental issues are leading investigators to examine engineered platelet technologies that can be macroscopically manipulated and maintain the unique 'nano' functionalities. Vacuum deposition of a thin film onto a substrate and the subsequent comminuting of the film into a flake/platelet was originally developed for pigments that posses unique optical attributes. The attributes that are advantageous for optical pigments are applicable to many nanotechnology developments and in particular in catalytic applications. The objective of this project was be to establish the facilities and expertise to deposit multilayer thin films that are comminuted into platelets exhibiting nanotechnology performance attributes in prototype quantities ( > 100g). The effort focused on the fabrication, formulation, and utilization of thin film multilayer platelets for hydrogen storage.