Getting to xenon: Scientists examine alternatives for pulling this rare, expensive element out of air samples
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 10:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Whether capturing xenon for security or industrial uses, a new material could be a valuable ally, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Classified as a metal-organic framework or MOF, the material known as NiDOBDC has a honeycomb-esque framework and a lot of potential. Dr. Jay Grate and Dr. Praveen Thallapally compared NiDOBDC to a two other absorbents. One was a metal organic framework called MOF-5 and the other was activated charcoal. The nickel-based NiDOBDC did substantially better at capturing xenon than MOF-5, and about the same as the activated charcoal. However, NiDOBDC released xenon easily, a bonus for technological recovery systems and monitoring devices.