Innovation in Nanoporous Chemistry

[Orstio]

http://www.everything-science.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=160&Itemid=1

Science researchers from the University of Versailles (France), in collaboration with the ID31 beam line at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), report their progress in the design and characterisation of microporous materials. The combination of adept chemistry and computational design made possible the synthesis of a new material, named MIL-101 by its originators, (where MIL stands for Matériaux de l’Institut Lavoisier), with very large internal pores (ø~3.4nm) and surface area (5,900 m2.g-1). The new, crystalline material is representative of a class of compounds, known as metal organic framework materials, (MOFs), with potential applications in many fields including chemical separation, heterogeneous catalysis and gas storage. Confirmation of the structure of the new material exploited the intense X-ray beams at the ESRF.