Epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride for hydrogen generation by radiolysis of interfacial water

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that epitaxial hexagonal boron nitride can generate and store hydrogen through water radiolysis, offering a promising material for sustainable hydrogen production and storage.

Contribution

It shows that large-area epitaxial hBN can effectively produce and store hydrogen via radiolysis, advancing materials science for green energy applications.

Findings

hBN bubbles store hydrogen for weeks under deformation

epitaxial hBN visualizes hydrogen generation process

hBN is promising for hydrogen storage and production

Abstract

Hydrogen is an important building block in global strategies towards a future green energy system. To make this transition possible, intense scientific efforts are needed, also in the field of materials science. Two-dimensional crystals, such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), are very promising in this regard, as it was demonstrated that micrometer-sized exfoliated flakes are excellent barriers to molecular hydrogen. However, it remains an open question whether large-area layers fabricated by industrially relevant methods preserve such promising properties. In this work we show that electron beam-induced splitting of water creates hBN bubbles that effectively store molecular hydrogen for weeks and under extreme mechanical deformation. We demonstrate that epitaxial hBN allows direct visualization and monitoring of the process of hydrogen generation by radiolysis of interfacial water. Our findings show that hBN is not only a potential candidate for hydrogen storage, but also holds promise for the development of unconventional hydrogen production schemes.