| abstract |
A porous wall hollow glass microsphere is provided having a diameter range of between 1 to 200 microns, a density of between 1.0 to 2.0 gm/cc, a porous-wall structure having wall openings defining an average pore size of between 10 to 1000 angstroms, and which contains therein a hydrogen storage material. The porous-wall structure facilitates the introduction of a hydrogen storage material into the interior of the porous wall hollow glass microsphere. In this manner, the resulting hollow glass microsphere can provide a membrane for the selective transport of hydrogen through the porous walls of the microsphere, the small pore size preventing gaseous or liquid contaminants from entering the interior of the hollow glass microsphere. A hydrogen storage material (e.g. Palladium) is introduced into the porous glass micropheres by subjecting them to partial vacuum, surrounding them with a solution containing the hydrogen storage material, increasing the pressure to force the solution into the spheres, drying them and finally reducing the hydrogen storage material . |