Indian-Australian scientist contributes to breakthrough research that could make hydrogen safer to use

Researchers in nanotechnology, including Dr. Srikanth Mateti and Alfred Deakin Professor Ying (Ian) Chen, have proposed a novel method to safely separate, store, and transport large quantities of hydrogen gas with almost no waste. Their findings were published in the esteemed journal Materials Today.

A novel technique called “ball milling” has been developed by the Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University to store gas in a unique nanomaterial at ambient temperature. The team believes its method, which relies on mechanochemical reactions—in which gear is employed to induce unique reactions—could help address the critical issue of hydrogen storage, which is now a significant obstacle to uptake.

The discovery represents such a shift from the conventional understanding of gas separation and storage that one of the principal investigators, Dr. Srikanth Mateti, admitted it took him 20 to 30 repetitions of his experiment before he could fully believe it.

It was a “eureka” moment, according to Dr. Mateti, since “we were so startled to see this happen, but each time we kept getting the same result.”

Boron nitride powder, which is small yet has a huge surface area for absorption, is the unique component in the ball milling process.

This critical discovery has challenged the scientific consensus on gas separation and storage. According to the researchers, boron nitride powder is a crucial component in their procedure. Since “it is so small yet has a high amount of surface area for absorption,” this is excellent for absorbing substances.

The research team is hopeful that they can scale up with industry support. They have submitted a provisional patent application for their process.