Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, have developed a chemical compound that releases hydrogen and methane when heated moderately. Per the team, the work is a step towards new, better methods to store and transport these fuel gases.
Since magnesium hydridomethylzincate is a solid at room temperature, it could offer an alternative to transporting methane and hydrogen as compressed gases. More research attention is warranted considering, as the team has acknowledged, the compound is also highly sensitive to moisture and it is not known whether it can be ‘replenished’ once its gaseous contents have been depleted. The study’s other authors were Sheetal Kathayat Bisht, Poorna Gomathisankaran, and Alex Andrews.
This together with the relatively low temperature required to liberate the gases merit more research on the compound, the paper said. “Although we are yet to demonstrate reversibility in our system, the study provides a starting point for exploring molecular compounds that can reversibly uptake and release fuel gases using main-group elements,” Prof. Venugopal said.
They have also devised ways to store the two fuels as compressed gases and solid materials that can release one or the other gas. In the new study, researchers developed a compound of magnesium, zinc, hydrogen, and carbon called magnesium hydridomethylzincate. When the compound was heated in solution to 100° C, it released hydrogen — and when its crystals were heated in the absence of a solvent, at 80-110° C, it released both hydrogen and methane.
“The broader significance of the work is that organometallic compounds could potentially provide molecular platforms for the storage and controlled release of fuel gases,” chemistry professor and study lead Ajay Venugopal told The Hindu .
Scientists have previously proposed blending hydrogen with methane as an intermediary step: while hydrogen burns faster than methane, methane can reduce the risk of flames travelling back into burners or triggering violent detonations.
