Carbocycles as Promising LOHCs: Overcoming Dehydrogenation Challenges for Efficient Hydrogen Storage

Carbocycles have emerged as promising candidates for liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) due to their impressive properties, including high gravimetric storage capacities, liquid state at room temperature, high boiling points, low toxicity, CO-free dehydrogenation products, and abundant availability. However, the high energy barrier for the dehydrogenation reaction presents a significant challenge. This necessitates harsh reaction conditions, typically requiring temperatures of 200-350 ﾰC, which complicates the use of homogeneous catalysts. Consequently, most demonstrations of carbocycles as LOHCs have relied on heterogeneous catalysts. Despite this hurdle, ongoing research focuses on developing efficient catalytic systems and optimizing reaction conditions to unlock the full potential of carbocycles for practical hydrogen storage applications.