[Nat Chem] Porous Crystal Found to Be Capable of Selective Sorption of Oxygen and Nitric Oxide

The discovery, published in Nature Chemistry, could lead to significant cost savings in gas separation technologies.

June 7, 2010

Porous coordination polymer
Diagram of a porous coordination polymer (PCP) selectively
adsorbing O2 and NO molecules. Inset shows the charge
transfer between the PCP (in particular the TCNQ molecule)
and the guest, as indicated by their relative electronegativity.
(Courtesy Kitagawa Lab)

Researchers from Kyoto University have discovered a useful property of a type of porous crystal that may lead to the development of new environmental technologies capable of aiding in separating gasses.

The findings by Prof and Deputy Director Susumu Kitagawa and Assoc Prof Ryotato Matsuda of Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) were published on June 6 in the online edition of Nature Chemistry.

The flexible crystals, known as porous coordination polymers or PCPs, consist of metal ions linked with organic molecules: in this case, zinc ions linked by tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) molecules. This material combines the properties of being simultaneously crystalline and flexible, forming a regular yet dynamic porous domain.


PCP graph
Graph of the porous coordination polymer selectively
adsorbing O2 and NO. Other guest molecules are scarcely
adsorbed at all. (Courtesy Kitagawa Lab)

The selective gas sorption properties of the material were found to depend on a charge transfer between TCNQ and the guest gas molecules, with a notable preference shown for oxygen (O2) and nitric oxide (NO).

The researchers anticipate that industrial applications of this material will lead to significantly reduced costs for gas separation, and that the development of similar materials should make it possible to selectively adsorb other gases as well.

This research was conducted by the Kitagawa Integrated Pores Project, an Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) program funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Extenal LinkSelective sorption of oxygen and nitric oxide by an electron-donating flexible porous coordination polymer

Satoru Shimomura, Masakazu Higuchi, Ryotaro Matsuda, Ko Yoneda, Yuh Hijikata, Yoshiki Kubota, Yoshimi Mita, Jungeun Kim, Masaki Takata & Susumu Kitagawa

Nature Chemistry | Published online: 6 June 2010 | doi:10.1038/nchem.684

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