[font face=Serif][font size=5]UH Chemists Develop Porous Molecules that Bind Greenhouse Gases[/font]

[font size=4]Work Published in Nature Communications Highlights Important Advances in the Field[/font]

By Lisa Merkl

November 13, 2014

[font size=3]A team of University of Houston (UH) chemistry researchers have developed a molecule that assembles spontaneously into a lightweight structure with microscopic pores capable of binding large quantities of several potent greenhouse gases.

“Greenhouse gases, such a carbon dioxide, have received much attention lately because of their potential to dramatically affect Earth's climate, primarily the temperature of the planet,” said Ognjen Miljanić, a UH associate professor of chemistry and leader of the team.

While carbon dioxide presents the biggest problem, Miljanić notes that several other compounds are hundreds or thousands of times more potent in their greenhouse effect per unit of mass. These compounds include Freons, used as common refrigerants, and fluorocarbons, highly stable organic compounds in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced with fluorine.

“We developed a molecule that self-assembles into a structure that can capture these greenhouse vapors to the tune of 75 percent by weight,” Miljanić said. “This molecule could be used to capture Freons from disposed refrigeration systems, for example, or to concentrate them prior to analysis of their content.”

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