Evaluation of the hydrogen volumetric storage performance of zeolitic imidazolate scaffold doped with anatase TiO2

ZIF-8, a member of the zeolitic imidazolate framework family, has attracted great interest for hydrogen storage due to its well-defined microporous structure, chemical tunability and excellent thermal and mechanical stability. In this study, ZIF-8 was synthesized using methanol as a reaction medium and subsequently modified by incorporating different amounts (1-4 %) of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) to improve its hydrogen storage properties. A range of advanced characterization methods-including SEM, STEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, BET surface analysis and FTIR spectroscopy-were employed to thoroughly investigate the structural and morphological properties of the resulting materials. The analyses confirmed the successful integration of TiO2 into the ZIF-8 framework without compromising its crystalline integrity. Among the composites, the sample with 3.87 % TiO2showed the largest surface area and better hydrogen uptake performance. These results highlight the potential of TiO2-functionalised ZIF-8 as an efficient material for hydrogen storage and provide valuable insights for the development of next-generation energy storage systems.