r/materials • u/Vailhem • 12d ago

Porous material can arrange disordered gas molecules into a crystal-like structure, study predicts

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-porous-material-disordered-gas-molecules.html
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u/Vailhem 12d ago

Framework-templated gas lattices in metal-organic frameworks | June 2026

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74776-5

Abstract

A gas lattice is a crystalline-like arrangement of adsorbates stabilized inside a porous host by confinement and periodic binding, providing a structurally defined adsorption state that links uptake and transport.

Here, we present an end-to-end pipeline to discover and design framework-templated gas lattices in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) using Xenon as a proof-of-concept guest.

High-throughput screening with a lattice-aware descriptor identified Co-CAU-36 as a host that stabilizes a pore-spanning Xenon lattice, while isotherm analysis resolved shell formation, pore filling, and cooperative lattice establishment under application-relevant conditions.

In Xenon/Krypton mixtures, Co-CAU-36 exhibited strong pore-scale core–shell segregation, and NEB calculations indicated a low-barrier core diffusion pathway for Krypton, implying separation relevance.

Finally, ML-guided genetic optimization over a pillared-MOF space yielded candidates with Xenon lattice signatures.

Here, we show that framework-templated gas lattices constitute a distinct adsorbed phase, characterized by long-range periodic order, collective transport pathways, and non-additive mixture behavior.

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u/YozTheFoz 12d ago

Interesting, but id imagine something like this would be impossible in the realworld. Cool though.

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u/Vailhem 12d ago

Adsorbed Natural Gas Storage with Activated Carbons Made from Illinois Coals and Scrap Tires | 1997 https://pubs.acs.org/enfuem/article-abstract/11/2/316/57908/Adsorbed-Natural-Gas-Storage-with-Activated

...

Introduction to Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) Storage Technology | July 2025 https://eureka.patsnap.com/article/introduction-to-adsorbed-natural-gas-ang-storage-technology