By thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), we evaluated the hydrogen storage properties of carbon fine particles including single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) synthesized by plasma-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition, along with commercialized single-wall carbon nanotubes. Two hydrogen desorption peaks, one between 100 and 200°C and the other between 500 and 600°C, were observed for the carbon fine particles as well as for SWNTs in the spectra of TDS. Activation energy determined by varying raising temperature revealed that the lower-temperature peak is derived from physisorbed hydrogen. Peaks of CO desorption from the carbon fine particles, which appeared by the oxidation of carbon, were also observed around the higher-peak temperature. The result suggests that synthesized carbon fine particles contain a lot of defects and bents with large specific surface areas, which have the potential of larger amount of hydrogen adsorption.
