# Hydrogen storage materials: four ways to hold H₂

> A radial graphical abstract with a hydrogen molecule at the hub and the four ways to store it on the spokes: compressed gas, cryogenic liquid, physisorption in a metal–organic framework and chemical binding in magnesium hydride. A bottom strip shows how alloying, nanostructuring, nanoconfinement and catalysts tame magnesium hydride.

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- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=hydrogen-storage-materials-four-routes
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Materials graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Hydrogen gas: light, abundant, burns to water
- Product: Hydrogen held as a gas, a liquid, on a porous framework or inside a metal hydride
- Key result: MOF-5: 4.5 wt% at 78 K, 1.0 wt% at room temperature and 20 bar (Rosi et al. 2003); MgH2: 7.6 wt%, 110 g/L, ΔH 76 kJ/mol, Ea 160 kJ/mol; desorption peak 370 °C → 260 °C with nano-Ni (Sun et al. 2020)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 87 editable layers (2 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **Compressed gas**: High-pressure tanks hold hydrogen as a gas but are dangerous (Sun et al. 2020)
2. **Cryogenic liquid**: Liquid hydrogen storage is costly (Sun et al. 2020)
3. **Physisorption in a MOF**: MOF-5, Zn4O(BDC)3, adsorbs 4.5 wt% at 78 K and 1.0 wt% at room temperature and 20 bar, binding H2 at zinc and at the linker (Rosi et al. 2003)
4. **Metal hydride**: MgH2 stores 7.6 wt% (110 g/L) reversibly, but ΔH = 76 kJ/mol and Ea = 160 kJ/mol make release hot and slow (Sun et al. 2020)
5. **Taming MgH2**: Alloying, nanostructuring, nanoconfinement and transition-metal catalysts; nano-Ni moved the desorption peak from 370 °C to 260 °C (Sun et al. 2020); clusters below 2 nm change the thermodynamics (Cheng et al. 2012)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on hydrogen storage materials
- Talks comparing physisorption and metal hydrides
- Teaching the hydrogen economy

## References

1. Schlapbach & Züttel, “Hydrogen-storage materials for mobile applications”, Nature 2001. https://doi.org/10.1038/35104634 (review)
2. Rosi et al., “Hydrogen storage in microporous metal-organic frameworks”, Science 2003. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1083440 (primary)
3. Sun et al., “Enhancing hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 by transition metals and carbon materials: a brief review”, Front. Chem. 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2020.00552 (review)
4. Cheng et al., “Efficient hydrogen storage with the combination of lightweight Mg/MgH2 and nanostructures”, Chem. Commun. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2cc30740e (review)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Schlapbach & Züttel, Nature 2001 (doi:10.1038/35104634); Rosi et al., Science 2003 (doi:10.1126/science.1083440); Sun et al., Front. Chem. 2020 (doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00552); Cheng et al., Chem. Commun. 2012 (doi:10.1039/c2cc30740e).

## Questions

**What does the “Hydrogen storage materials: four ways to hold H₂” template show?** A radial graphical abstract with a hydrogen molecule at the hub and the four ways to store it on the spokes: compressed gas, cryogenic liquid, physisorption in a metal–organic framework and chemical binding in magnesium hydride. A bottom strip shows how alloying, nanostructuring, nanoconfinement and catalysts tame magnesium hydride.

**What are the steps shown in “Hydrogen storage materials: four ways to hold H₂”?** 1. Compressed gas: High-pressure tanks hold hydrogen as a gas but are dangerous (Sun et al. 2020). 2. Cryogenic liquid: Liquid hydrogen storage is costly (Sun et al. 2020). 3. Physisorption in a MOF: MOF-5, Zn4O(BDC)3, adsorbs 4.5 wt% at 78 K and 1.0 wt% at room temperature and 20 bar, binding H2 at zinc and at the linker (Rosi et al. 2003). 4. Metal hydride: MgH2 stores 7.6 wt% (110 g/L) reversibly, but ΔH = 76 kJ/mol and Ea = 160 kJ/mol make release hot and slow (Sun et al. 2020). 5. Taming MgH2: Alloying, nanostructuring, nanoconfinement and transition-metal catalysts; nano-Ni moved the desorption peak from 370 °C to 260 °C (Sun et al. 2020); clusters below 2 nm change the thermodynamics (Cheng et al. 2012).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Hydrogen gas: light, abundant, burns to water. Product: Hydrogen held as a gas, a liquid, on a porous framework or inside a metal hydride.

**Which papers is “Hydrogen storage materials: four ways to hold H₂” based on?** Schlapbach & Züttel, “Hydrogen-storage materials for mobile applications”, Nature 2001 (doi:10.1038/35104634); Rosi et al., “Hydrogen storage in microporous metal-organic frameworks”, Science 2003 (doi:10.1126/science.1083440); Sun et al., “Enhancing hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 by transition metals and carbon materials: a brief review”, Front. Chem. 2020 (doi:10.3389/fchem.2020.00552); Cheng et al., “Efficient hydrogen storage with the combination of lightweight Mg/MgH2 and nanostructures”, Chem. Commun. 2012 (doi:10.1039/c2cc30740e).

**Can I edit the “Hydrogen storage materials: four ways to hold H₂” template?** Yes. Open it in the LabCanvas editor: all 87 layers are editable, including 2 generated objects (structures, plots, equipment) with their own settings. Change the text, colours and layout, then export PNG, TIFF, SVG or PDF.

**Do I need an account to use this template?** Not to view it here. To open and edit it, sign in to LabCanvas or create a free account (the free plan keeps up to 3 designs). Downloading the figure is part of LabCanvas Pro (US$19 a month or US$199 a year).