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POROUS MATERIALS

Photoswitching to the core

Nature Chemistry volume 12, pages 584–585 (2020)Cite this article

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The potential applications of smart photoswitchable porous materials are currently limited by incomplete switching. Now, efficient bulk switching has been achieved by embedding a photoisomerizable overcrowded alkene in a highly porous aromatic framework, creating a material capable of photomodulated gas uptake.

In the past few decades, porous materials have rapidly gained practical importance in fields ranging from the separation and storage of gases to the removal of radioactive particles from nuclear waste. An important aspect for the large-scale application of these materials is the ability to control the uptake and release of guests. Recent progress in the development of dynamic porous materials — which undergo structural changes under a stimulus such as temperature, light irradiation or the presence of certain species1 — has allowed the free volume of the pores to be deliberately altered, which can aid the adsorption and desorption processes.

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Fig. 1: Schematic representation of photoisomerizable porous framework.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Jet-Sing M. Lee & Hiroshi Sato

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  1. Jet-Sing M. Lee
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  2. Hiroshi Sato
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Sato.

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Lee, JS.M., Sato, H. Photoswitching to the core. Nat. Chem. 12, 584–585 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-020-0499-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-020-0499-z

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