Imagine a sponge that could soak up a thousand times its own volume in water. Now imagine how effective that sponge would be if it could store hydrogen instead of water, giving researchers an alternative to compressed air cylinders for storing the gas.
Palladium, a precious metal closely related to platinum, is that sponge. Unlike any other element, it takes up hydrogen at room temperature and pressure. In a recent study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have gained new insight into how this uptake of hydrogen occurs, realized how it impacts the atomic structure of the palladium, and identified key properties of how this form of hydrogen storage could work in the future.
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