Patent ID: 8663429

Claim:
A source of hydrogen comprising: a glass or nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell comprising a network of shell material and a hydrogen gas within said glass or nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell, the hydrogen gas within the shell comprising at least 80% by volume of hydrogen, wherein the glass or nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell has an initial permeability through the shell to hydrogen gas of less than 50% decrease in pressure in 30 days and a final permeability through the shell to hydrogen gas of about 50% decrease in pressure in 60 seconds or less by permeation through the shell upon exposure of the glass shell or nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell to a continuous or pulsed fluence of at least 0.1 W/cm 2 of electromagnetic radiation that directly modulates the microstructure of the glass network of the shell material or of the nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell material to increase the hydrogen gas permeability of the glass shell or nanocrystalline glass-ceramic shell.