The changing state of porous materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Porous materials possess empty spaces for selective adsorption and chemical transformation of guest molecules.
• Applications include gas separation, energy storage, ion exchange, heterogeneous catalysis, and green chemistry.
• Ordered (crystalline) porous materials are traditionally favored for predictable property engineering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the potential of topological disorder in porous materials.
• To introduce concepts for creating novel porous liquids and glasses.
• To provide perspectives on the applications of these disordered porous materials.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of existing research on disordered porous materials.
• Conceptualization of routes for synthesizing porous liquids and glasses.
• Analysis of potential applications based on material properties.

Main Results:

• Growing evidence supports the utility of topological disorder in porous materials.
• Novel concepts for the creation of porous liquids have been identified.
• Rationalization of synthetic routes towards porous glasses has been provided.

Conclusions:

• Topological disorder offers alternative pathways to engineer unique properties in porous materials.
• Porous liquids and glasses represent promising new frontiers in materials science.
• Further research into disordered porous materials can unlock new industrial and domestic applications.