Preparation and characterization of porous carbons from ion-exchange resins with different degree of cross-linking for hydrogen storage

Porous carbons are prepared using ion-exchange resins with three different degree of cross-linking for hydrogen storage. The degree of resin cross-linking has little effect on the specific surface area and microporosity of the carbon; however, mesoporosity increases significantly with decreases in the degree of cross-linking. Porous carbon prepared from low cross-linked resin (4% cross-linking) shows a mesopore volume of 0.92 cm3/g, which is 77% higher than that from 12% cross-linked resin. The prepared carbons are used for hydrogen storage. It is found that total micropore volume is a major contributor to the high hydrogen adsorption observed at 200 bar.