The world in the 21(st) century is facing increasing challenges within the development of more environmentally friendly energy systems, sustainable and 'green chemistry' solutions for a variety of chemical and catalytic processes. Nanomaterials science is expected to contribute strongly by the development of new nanotools, e.g. for improving the performance of chemical reactions. Nanoconfinement is of increasing interest and may lead to significantly enhanced kinetics, higher degree of stability and/or more favourable thermodynamic properties. Nanoconfined chemical reactions may have a wide range of important applications in the near future, e.g. within the merging area of chemical storage of renewable energy. This review provides selected examples within nanoconfinement of hydrogen storage materials, which may serve as an inspiration for other research fields as well. Selected nanoporous materials, methods for preparation of nanoconfined systems and their hydrogen storage properties are reviewed.
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011