Deposition and Characterization of Size-Selected Cluster Materials: Towards the Development of New Materials for Hydrogen Storage

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gerd Ganteför
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2008 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 72169014

Hydrogen (H2) has tremendous potential to serve as a source of clean energy in the future, but the problem of hydrogen storage is still not solved. One approach to overcome this problem is to design materials which can bind hydrogen reversibly within their crystal structure. The present proposal aims at the development of new materials based on sizeselected clusters with the long-term aim to design tailor-made cluster materials for hydrogen storage. The project is divided into three components: (i) Development of experimental capabilities to image size selected clusters deposited on solid substrates, (ii) deposition of cluster materials and control of the various factors that influence their two and three dimensional structure and (iii) characterization of the structure and properties of cluster materials that have the potential to act as hydrogen storage materials. Cluster ions will be generated with a magnetron sputter source and soft-landed on a substrate. Stabilization will be achieved by codeposition of atoms or molecules (e.g., counter ions) or deposition of chemically inert clusters (oxides, carbides, sulphides, hydrides). Monolayers and thin films of cluster deposited materials will be characterized using a combination of in-situ room temperature STM, XPS and TDS.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: South Korea, USA
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Kit H. Bowen; Professor Howard Fairbrother, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Young Dok Kim