Synthesis of N-doped activated carbon with ultra-microporous and the capacity to store hydrogen

N-doped ultra-microporous activated carbon was made from Chenopodium quinoa Willd. straw in the Tibetan Plateau region and cesium chloride as activator and used for H2 adsorption and storage. Its structure was characterized by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and other techniques. The results showed that the adsorbent had a well-developed microporous structure, and its specific surface area was as high as 804 m2 ·g-1. Its major pore sizes were all distributed in the ultra-micropores of 0.62 nm. The adsorbent also had a high H2 adsorption storage capacity, which could reach 12.2 cm3·g-1 at an adsorption pressure of 1 MPa and an adsorption temperature of 298 K. This study provides a new way to improve the high value utilization of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. straw and solid hydrogen storage and provides corresponding evidence that CsCl can be used as an activator for ultra-microporous activated carbon.