title: Illuminating solid gas storage in confined spaces - methane hydrate formation in porous model carbons.
abstract: Methane hydrate nucleation and growth in porous model carbon materials illuminates the way towards the design of an optimized solid-based methane storage technology. High-pressure methane adsorption studies on pre-humidified carbons with well-defined and uniform porosity show that methane hydrate formation in confined nanospace can take place at relatively low pressures, even below 3 MPa CH4, depending on the pore size and the adsorption temperature. The methane hydrate nucleation and growth is highly promoted at temperatures below the water freezing point, due to the lower activation energy in ice vs. liquid water. The methane storage capacity via hydrate formation increases with an increase in the pore size up to an optimum value for the 25 nm pore size model-carbon, with a 173% improvement in the adsorption capacity as compared to the dry sample. Synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction measurements (SXRPD) confirm the formation of methane hydrates with a sI structure, in close agreement with natural hydrates. Furthermore, SXRPD data anticipate a certain contraction of the unit cell parameter for methane hydrates grown in small pores.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany. lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Borchardt
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany. lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nickel
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Materiales Avanzados, IUMA, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra. San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante s/n, E-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain. joaquin.silvestre@ua.es.
authors.forename: Mirian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casco
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany. lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Senkovska
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany. lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Volodymyr
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bon
authors.affiliation: Department of Sample Environments, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wallacher
authors.affiliation: Department of Sample Environments, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Germany.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany. lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Materiales Avanzados, IUMA, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra. San Vicente del Raspeig-Alicante s/n, E-03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain. joaquin.silvestre@ua.es.
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Silvestre-Albero