Tiny Flaws, Big Impact: How Defects in Palladium Nanoparticles Speed Up Hydrogen Absorption

A breakthrough study has revealed how tiny imperfections in palladium nanoparticles can dramatically influence the way hydrogen interacts with metals — a finding that could transform hydrogen-based technologies.

Palladium is renowned for its ability to soak up hydrogen like a sponge, making it crucial for clean energy applications such as hydrogen storage and sensors. Yet, at the nanoscale, its hydrogen behavior has remained puzzling.

Prof. Eugen Rabkin and Ph.D. student Jonathan Zimmerman (now a post-doc in Germany) from the Faculty of Materials Science & Engineering, in collaboration with a research group at Chalmers University in Sweden, created well-ordered arrays of palladium nanoparticles and used advanced microscopy techniques to observe how they absorb and release hydrogen under controlled conditions.

By fine-tuning defects within these particles, the researchers discovered that imperfections can accelerate hydrogen uptake and change the pressure at which hydrogen-rich phases form. Repeated hydrogen cycling even reshaped the particles in unexpected ways.

These insights bring us closer to designing better, more reliable hydrogen-based technologies — from storage materials to sensors — by finally revealing how defects control hydrogen–metal interaction at the nanoscale.