Safer, Denser Acetylene Storage in an Organic Framework

The team has probed the atomic-level workings of a metal-organic framework (MOF), a lattice-like structure made of copper oxide and benzene, that soaks up acetylene like a sponge. Using tools at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), the scientists have shown that exposed copper atoms within the lattice give the MOF its talent at storing acetylene. The findings, according to NCNR physicist Yun Liu, could be of use to the chemical industry in the future.

“This discovery could provide substantial savings in acetylene transportation costs,” says Liu, a member of the research team, which also included scientists from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Acetylene, widely used in decades past for welding and illumination, is now also valuable as a starting point for synthesizing a range of chemicals used in plastics and explosives. In the United States alone, several hundred thousand tons of acetylene are produced every year, but its volatility renders it difficult to transport: It becomes dangerously explosive at about 30 psi (207 kilopascal), only about twice normal atmospheric pressure. To safely store acetylene, storage cylinders have to be filled with both porous material and liquid solvents such as acetone.

The research team used neutron powder diffraction and computer calculations at the NCNR to investigate an MOF called HKUST-1, which has a sponge-like interior in which copper atoms are exposed to the air. The analysis showed that the acetylene attaches to the exposed copper by virtue of weak electrical charges, allowing the MOF to store 201 cubic centimeters of acetylene per gram of lattice at ambient pressure—comparable to the amount of similar chemicals that can be contained within a high pressure storage cylinder.

Liu says the fundamental discovery could also help scientists better understand MOFs, which could be used to store other materials. “More than a thousand of these metal—organic frameworks have been created so far,” he says. “We hope our technique will turn out to be a good way to check such materials’ properties in advance.”

* S. Xiang, W. Zhou, J.M. Gallegos, Y. Liu, and B. Chen. Exceptionally High Acetylene Uptake in a Microporous Metal – Organic Framework With Open Metal Sites. Journal of the American Chemical Society, Aug. 11, 2009, DOI 10.1021/ja904782h.

Media Contact

Chad Boutin Newswise Science News

More Information:

http://www.nist.gov

All latest news from the category: Power and Electrical Engineering

This topic covers issues related to energy generation, conversion, transportation and consumption and how the industry is addressing the challenge of energy efficiency in general.

innovations-report provides in-depth and informative reports and articles on subjects ranging from wind energy, fuel cell technology, solar energy, geothermal energy, petroleum, gas, nuclear engineering, alternative energy and energy efficiency to fusion, hydrogen and superconductor technologies.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors