Facile precipitation synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of Zn2SnO4 nanostructure as a hydrogen storage material

A facile precipitation method with the subsequent thermal treatment has been developed for the synthesis of Zn₂SnO₄ nanostructures in presence of tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) with long chain as a capping and basic agent. The effects of different parameters such as precursor of Zn, solvent, reaction time and temperature were studied to reach optimum size and morphology conditions. More importantly, through controlling the experimental conditions, three different morphologies of nanoparticle, nanorod and nanoplate Zn₂SnO₄ mesoporous through one reaction were successfully obtained. In this paper, hydrogen storage capacity of Zn₂SnO₄ nanoparticle reported for the first time. Furthermore, the mesoporous of Zn₂SnO₄ nanoparticle showed high electrochemical hydrogen storage capacities at room temperature. After 13 cycles, the discharging capacities of the electrode still remain above 4650 mAh/g. These results indicate that the mesoporous Zn₂SnO₄ nanoparticle may be potentially applied for electrochemical hydrogen storage.