Vljudno vas vabimo skupaj s Kemijskim inštitutom na predavanje prof. Juergena Eckerta (University of South Florida, ZDA) z naslovom 'Strategies for strengthening the interactions of molecular hydrogen in porous materials for hydrogen storage', ki bo v petek, 28.1. 2011 ob 12. uri v Veliki predavalnici Kemijskega inštituta.

Necessary improvements in porous materials for an eventual practical use as hydrogen storage media depend critically on a molecular-level understanding of the interactions of hydrogen at the various binding sites encountered in such materials. Characterization of H₂ sorption is, however, almost exclusively carried by thermodynamic measurements, which give average properties for all the sites occupied by H₂ molecules at a particular loading. One of the few molecular experimental probes available is that of the observation of transitions between the hindered rotor energy levels of the bound H₂ by inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy. The lowest of these transitions may be described as rotational tunneling, and its observation provides extraordinarily fine detail on the interaction of molecular hydrogen with porous host materials. Moreover, neutron scattering experiments can be interpreted in a very direct way in connection with computational studies. The results of our systematic spectroscopic studies on a large number of porous materials provide detailed information on improvements in hydrogen binding from framework modifications, including charged frameworks and extraframework cations, and the introduction of various types of metal binding sites, and thereby give direction to efforts in the synthesis of new materials that may reach the goal of a practical sorption based hydrogen storage material.

The work reported herein is the result of a large number of collaborations with many investigators and their groups, particularly those of A. K. Cheetham, M. Eddaoudi, and O. Yaghi.