Inducing In Situ Hydrothermal Carbonization of Glucose To Synthesize Carbon–MIL-101 Hybrid Composites for Improved Hydrogen Uptake

A sustainable methodology was explored to synthesize carbon–MIL-101 hybrid composites by advantageously inducing in situ hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of glucose during the synthesis of MIL-101. Carbon−MIL-101 hybrid composites with varying carbon contents were synthesized by tuning the content of glucose. The HTC of glucose and incorporation of carbon in MIL-101 were confirmed by probing 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman investigations. The microporosity of composites can be fine-tuned by optimizing the carbon loading. Consequently, the carbon–MIL-101 hybrid composites with an optimized pore size and high pore volume and surface area conferred enhanced H 2 uptake properties (by ca. 11% compared to MIL-101) at 77 K and 1 bar. The noteworthy enhancement in H 2 uptake for the synthesized carbon–MIL-101 hybrid composites endorsed the potential of the studied methodology to design hybrid metal–organic framework composites with tuned porosity for H 2 storage application.