Hole new approach

Nanoporous materials, riddled with networks of holes of different shapes and sizes, are extremely important in many branches of engineering. The chemical industry, for example, uses them to support catalysts; they form the basis for many types of filters; they are vital components for molecular sensors and other electronic components; and they are likely to be the basis for gas storage systems for fuel cells.

But making them is a tricky business, because their properties are dramatically altered by the sizes of their pores: this is the deciding factor in determining which substances can be trapped inside the structure, whether as part of a separation process or to act as their support. Large pores are particularly useful, but they’re also the most difficult to produce.

A team from the University of Versailles has combined computer simulation with synthetic chemistry to develop a new way to design and make some materials, and believes it has tailored a material with important applications across a variety of fields.