One of the challenges in storing gas is that, as molecules are so dispersed, it can be difficult to store a useful amount of the stuff. It’s not a problem if you just need a little canister of butane to power a camp stove for a couple of days. But it is a big problem if you’re hoping to drive a methane-powered car without stopping every couple of miles to top-up your fuel canister. Or if you are looking to capture a vast amount of carbon dioxide emitted from a coal plant.

A solution comes from a field known as reticular chemistry, which describes metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These “crystalline sponges” are characterized by molecular building blocks connected by strong bonds, resulting in relatively large pores that can be filled with gas. Find out more about this class of nanomaterials in this video interview with Felipe Gándara from the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM).

You can learn more about the materials research taking place at the ICMM in this video profile of the lab. Also take a look at the Physics World Nanotechnology Briefing, published in April 2020. This free-to-read collection celebrates how nanotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in applications as diverse as medicine, fire safety and quantum information.