Corkscrew sponge sucks up carbon dioxide, ignores nitrogen

Enlarge / GILLETTE, Wyo.: A truck loaded with coal is viewed from the Eagle Butte Coal Mine Overlook which is operated by Alpha Coal. The area is a large producer of coal. Gillette uses the moniker of 'The Energy Capital of the Nation'. (credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Given all the celebrations, I think we all deserve some punishment. Why else would I be inflicting chemistry on you? Chemistry is like the suspension system on your car; it's unnoticed and unloved, but it allows all the cooler bits to strut their stuff, much like the chemistry behind the development of a better carbon dioxide sponge.
One of the jaw-dropping (for me anyway) developments in chemistry was metal-organic frameworks. These frameworks form both open spaces—they let small molecules in—and enclosed spaces—the trapped molecules behave like they are stuck in a crystal. This combination opens up a world of possibilities.
The current research has allowed me to discover that the possibilities are also expanded by the fact that you can make these frameworks without the metal.
Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments