In situ electrochemical hydrogenation of dibenzyl toluene as liquid organic hydrogen carriers

Abstract Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) are an important development direction for diversified hydrogen storage and transportation technologies. Electrochemical in-situ hydrogenation of liquid organic compounds can effectively couple hydrogen production and storage processes, which has important research significance and potential application prospects. This paper uses dibenzyl toluene (H0-DBT) as an electrochemical liquid organic in-situ hydrogen storage material, which is a new attempt and provides new ideas for the selection of future electrochemical liquid organic hydrogen storage materials. The research results indicate that in situ electrochemical hydrogenation of H0-DBT is feasible. Through the analysis of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the hydrogenation reduction of DBT on the Ru-Ti-Ir electrode surface is carried out in multiple steps controlled by diffusion. With the increase of temperature, proton donor concentration and H0-DBT concentration, the hydrogenation current density of H0-DBT increases. The hydrogenation products of H0-DBT are incomplete hydrogenation product H12-DBT and complete hydrogenation product H18-DBT. The process of hydrogenation from H0-DBT to H12-DBT is faster, while the process of hydrogenation from H12-DBT to H18-DBT is slower.