Context:
Scientists led by Nobel Laureate Omar Yaghi have developed new ultra-porous three-dimensional materials using nanographene-based molecular building blocks. The breakthrough could enable advanced gas storage, separation technologies, and next-generation functional materials.
Explanation:
- Nanographene refers to very small fragments of graphene, made of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern.
- Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms and is known for its strength, light weight, conductivity and large surface area.
- Scientists designed a molecule called HBC-LA12, which has 12 connection points arranged in a prism-like shape. These connection points allow the molecule to link with other molecules in a planned manner.
- By connecting many such molecules, scientists created two new three-dimensional porous structures.
- These materials are called ultra-porous because they contain a very large number of tiny empty spaces or pores.
- One of the new structures has a record surface area of about 5,000 square metres per gram.
- A high surface area means more space is available for gases or molecules to attach inside the material. This is important because such materials can be used to store gases like hydrogen, methane or carbon dioxide.
- The breakthrough is related to reticular chemistry, which means designing materials by joining molecular building blocks in a planned pattern.
- Omar Yaghi is known for pioneering metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, which are highly porous materials.
- Such materials can be useful in clean energy, gas separation, carbon capture, water harvesting, catalysis and environmental technologies.
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