Discovery of Molecular Sorption Phenomenon Enabling Detection of Differences in Electron State -Development of highly efficient technology for separating oxygen and nitrogen gases (Press Release)
- Release Date
- 07 Jun, 2010
- BL02B2 (Powder Diffraction)
Kyoto University
Japan Science and Technology Agency
Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
RIKEN
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A research group consisting of scientists at Kyoto University (Hiroshi Matsumoto, President), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST; Koichi Kitazawa, President), Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI; Tetsuhisa Shirakawa, President), and RIKEN (Ryoji Noyori, President) succeeded in demonstrating a selective molecular sorption characteristic by synthesizing porous materials*1 that enable electron exchange, in cooperation with scientists at Osaka Prefecture University (Taketoshi Okuno, President) and Osaka University (Kiyokazu Washida, President). Susumu Kitagawa, a professor and Deputy Director of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences(iCeMS), Kyoto University; Ryotaro Matsuda, an associate professor at iCeMS and the group leader of the Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Kitagawa Integrated Pores Project supported by JST; Satoru Shimomura, a research associate at iCeMS and the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, and their colleagues synthesized nanoporous materials that enable electron exchange. They also analyzed in detail the crystal structure of the materials to which various types of gas molecules were sorbed using the high-brilliance synchrotron radiation at the Powder Diffraction Beamline BL02B2 of SPring-8. In this study, they succeeded in realizing selective molecular sorption using the characteristics of nanopores that enable electron exchange, although this has been difficult using conventional porous materials. This finding provides fundamental knowledge for the development of efficient technology for separating various gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. This achievement is expected to enable the efficient elimination of harmful gases in the atmosphere and lead to the development of materials contributing to human health and the global environment. This study was carried out as part of the ERATO Kitagawa Integrated Pores Project supported by JST (Susumu Kitagawa, Project leader). The results of this research were published in the advance online publication of the British scientific journal Nature Chemistry on 6 June 2010. Publication: |
<Figure>
Fig. 1 Characteristics of nanoporous materials that can separate different gases by their different molecular sizes (referred to as molecular sieve).
Fig. 2 Structure of tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) (left) and mechanism underlying gas sorption of nanopores of TCNQ (right).
Fig. 3 Only oxygen (O2) and nitrogen monoxide (NO) molecules are sorbed.
Fig. 4 Sorption of gas molecules into nanopores was confirmed by a powder X-ray diffraction experiment using the BL02B2 beamline at SPring-8.
<Glossary>
*1 Porous materials
Porous materials are materials with numerous fine pores. They are used in sorption applications as an absorbent and catalyst. They have been applied in selective separation and in reactions involving gases and water.
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For more information, please contact: Prof. Susumu KITAGAWA (Kyoto University) |
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