Science

Synthetic materials set new world record for greatest amount of surface area

Synthetic materials set new world record for greatest amount of surface area
MOFs are composed of organic linkers held together by metal atoms, and this results in a molecular cage-like structure like the above model of the NU-110 (Image: Northwestern University)
MOFs are composed of organic linkers held together by metal atoms, and this results in a molecular cage-like structure like the above model of the NU-110 (Image: Northwestern University)
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MOFs are composed of organic linkers held together by metal atoms, and this results in a molecular cage-like structure like the above model of the NU-110 (Image: Northwestern University)
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MOFs are composed of organic linkers held together by metal atoms, and this results in a molecular cage-like structure like the above model of the NU-110 (Image: Northwestern University)

Researchers at Northwestern University, Illinois, have broken a world record in the creation of two synthetic materials, named NU-109 and NU-110, which have the greatest amount of surface areas of any material to date. To put this into perspective: if one were able to take a crystal of NU-110 the size of a grain of salt, and somehow unfold it, the surface area would cover a desktop. Additionally, the internal surface area of just one gram of the new material would cover one-and-a-half football fields.

The NU-109 and NU-110 synthetic materials belong to a class of crystalline compounds referred to as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are thought to hold considerable potential as vessels for the transport and storage of natural gas, catalysts, and other sustainable materials chemistry.

The Northwestern University team, led by Omar Farha, research associate professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, synthesized, characterized, and computationally simulated the behavior of the NU-109 and NU-110 MOFs. The materials were analyzed using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) theory and found to measure 7,000 m2/g. This means that one kilogram (2.2 lb) of the new material contains an internal surface area which could cover seven square kilometers (2.7 square miles) – the highest surface areas of any porous material on record.

The scientists gained access to the heretofore unreachable high surface area of the porous NU-109 and NU-110 MOF materials by removing the solvent molecules which were previously trapped within the materials' pores. This was done with the use of a carbon dioxide activation technique, which gently removed the solvent and avoided damaging the MOF materials.

The researchers believe their work may lead to yet further advances in MOF research and they aim to eventually exceed double the current surface area of the NU-109 and NU-110 materials. In order for this to happen, the design of MOFs will require altering on the molecular level: MOFs are composed of organic linkers held together by metal atoms, and this results in a molecular cage-like structure. Therefore, the team propose to use more space efficient linker types in the material’s design.

A paper describing the findings titled “Metal-organic Framework Materials with Ultrahigh Surface Areas: Is the Sky the Limit?” was published August 20 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the new MOF-designing and synthesizing tech is currently being commercialized by NuMat Technologies.

Source: Northwestern University

6 comments
6 comments
JBar
What application requires increased surface area? Insulation?
windykites
If they used aluminium as the metal, it could be used for spraying into chemtrails. I would like to know how many layers of atoms there are in, say, a 1cm cube of graphene. How many football fields would that cover?
Mihai Santa
JBar , that is simple: Supercapacitors . I would like to know about the ratio of the new material to the 'old' ( Standard) materials they use in supercapacitors today regarding surface area/gram . I would be nice to know how big is this discovery :)
SciGuy3822
My initial thoughts exactly Mihai. It maybe that if this material has enough surface area that doped with the right substrate it may in fact come close to battery power density with an ultracapacitors penchant for rapid power transference heralding in the holy grail of electric powered vehicles.
Gregg Eshelman
But would it work as the heatsink for Reason in Neal Stephenson's book "Snow Crash"? ;)
Fretting Freddy the Ferret pressing the Fret
It has a lot of potential in the chemical industry in heterogeneous catalysis. It can serve as a platform where solid catalysts attached to that surface have more surface for liquid reagents that flow past the surface to react. The more catalyst surface there is, the higher the reactivity.