Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/I008241/1
Title:	Porous Dynamic Materials for Energy Applications
Principal Investigator:	Trewin, Dr AE
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Liverpool
Scheme:	First Grant - Revised 2009
Starts:	07 March 2011	Ends:	06 March 2012	Value (£):	94,073
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Chemical Structure Energy Storage Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 01 Sep 2010 Physical Sciences Panel - Chemistry Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The increase in the transport of people and goods is set to continue over the coming years hence the need to develop a safe, economic and clean fuel. Hydrogen is an ideal fuel as it is highly abundant, lightweight and, of increasing importance, its waste product, water is environmentally benign. Hydrogen can be burnt as a fuel in a safe, efficient and controlled manner as demonstrated by its successful use for space technologies.Hydrogen (H2), if produced cleanly and economically, is an ideal clean energy source for the future. However, widespread use - for example in automotive applications - is limited by the lack of a convenient method of H2 storage. Porous organic polymers have potential as storage media: they are based on light elements, have high thermal and chemical stability, and are synthetically versatile. However, the storage of H2 in polymers and other porous materials is made very difficult by the fundamentally weak interactions which exist between gas and sorbent. Another generic challenge to physisorptive H2 storage is the very high surface areas which are required combined with the optimal isosteric heat of adsorption of -15 kJ/mol. It would be highly desirable to construct high surface area materials with binding energies that are intermediate between weak physisorption and strong chemisorption but this goal has remained elusive and requires a fundamental evaluation of potential binding modes and binding motifs. Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion are a major cause for environmental concern. Current carbon sequestration methods, such as liquid amines or geologic / biospheric sinks may also have detrimental environmental effects (e.g, lowering the pH of the sea) as well as issues regarding long-term life-cycle analysis and sustainability (in the case of liquid amines). A potential method of separation of CO2 from gas streams is the use of chemical and physical adsorption on functionalised microporous polymers. A more challenging problem is the capture and subsequent activation of CO2. Microporous polymers have several advantages; higher surface areas and their synthetic versatility allows for a wide range of diverse functionality which has the potential to enable reactions which may lead to the direct conversion of CO2 into more complex organic molecules (e.g., by artificial photosynthesis). This is a very challenging goal - there are very tough thermodynamic constraints (e.g., compression steps for CO2 recovery can require more energy than is saved ) and some goals (e.g., artificial photosynthesis) require not only new materials but a fresh new look at fundamental modes of action. This research aims to design entirely novel materials for efficient and convenient gas storage and other applications based upon dynamically responsive materials. A large number of materials have been investigated as physisorptive adsorbents including polymers, carbon, fullerenes and nanotubes, zeolites, and metal organic frameworks (MOFs). Organic polymers as storage media have the advantage of being based on light elements, high thermal and chemical stability, scalable synthesis, and synthetic versatility. A generic challenge to physisorptive hydrogen storage is the very high surface areas which are required combined with the optimal isosteric heat of adsorption of 15kJ/mol. The strategy here is to focus upon mechanical methodologies for capturing and storing hydrogen and carbon dioxide suggesting an innovative and original approach.Close collaboration with synthetic research groups is central to this proposal. An iterative loop of modelling and understanding structures is proposed; this enables us to predict interesting materials which can then be synthesized and characterised. This approach has the benefit of potentially instigating the synthesis of materials which would otherwise not have been undertaken.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.liv.ac.uk