Aluminum hydride coated single-walled carbon nanotube as a hydrogen storage medium

We report a first principle study on the hydrogen storage in Aluminum hydride (AlH3) coated (5, 5) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT). Our study indicates that a SWCNT coated with Aluminum hydride (Alane – AlH3) can bind up to four hydrogen molecules. At half coverage of AlH3, the hydrogen storage capacity of the SWCNT is 8.3 wt%. The system with full coverage is also studied and it is found that, even though the hydrogen storage capacity increases, the binding of H2 is weak. All the H2 adsorption is molecular with H–H bond length of 0.756 Å. Our result on a full molecular adsorption of hydrogen via light metal hydride is new and it leads to a practically viable storage process.