#gases

Laser treatment reshapes MOF pores, boosting CO₂ capture by up to 75%

A research team led by Hee-jung Lee, senior researcher at Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), in collaboration with Professor Sunghwan Park of Kyungpook National University and Professor Mingyu Kim of Yeungnam University, has developed a technology that enhances CO₂ adsorption performance in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by up to 75% through precise laser-based control of their internal structure. The study, published in the journal Small, demonstrates a new approach to improving material performance through laser post-treatment, offering an efficient alternative to conventional complex chemical processing methods. Why better gas separation is crucial The separation of mixed gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) is essential for applications such as natural gas purification and improving energy efficiency, and is considered a key technology for achieving carbon neutrality.

This is Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He was a German-Swedish chemist in the 18th century. He was born in 1742 to a grain dealer and a brewer. At age 14, he became an apprentice to a pharmacist named Martin Andreas Bauch. He stayed in the pharmaceutical sciences for a big chunk of his life and devoted himself to experiments which led him to some big discoveries.

Scheele discovered a number of elements, elements important to geologists today. Like Lavoisier, he independently discovered oxygen but he didn't understand the significance of that.

He discovered the element barium which makes up part of the mineral barite (BaS04),

the metallic element manganese,

the metallic element molybdenum,

and the metallic element tungsten.

He also discovered many compounds as well. One of his biggest discoveries was from a mineral sample his friend gave him. The mineral was pyrolusite.

He was able to identify lime (Ca02), silica (Si02), and iron (Fe) from the specimen (these would have been minerals found in the same vicinity not the mineral itself as pyrolusite is Mn02).

What was really neat, was when he added hydrochloric acid to the specimen over a warm sand bath, it created a dense yellow-green gas with a strong odor.

We now know this to be the very toxic chlorine gas.

He also discovered a great number of acids including citric, lactic, and hydrofluoric acids.

He discovered a number of hydrogen compounds as well from hydrogen cyanide to hydrogen sulfide to hydrogen fluoride.

Hydrogen sulfide molecule

Unfortunately, like many of his contemporaries, he died at the young age of 43. Since there were no regulations on how to safely perform experiments, prolonged exposure to to arsenic, mercury, lead, and their compounds weakened him. He died of mercury poisoning in 1786.

Thanks for reading up on this important scientist and tune in tomorrow to learn about march madness competitor Archelon. Fossilize you later!

Robert Bunsen – Scientist of the Day

Robert Bunsen, a German chemist, died Aug. 16, 1899, at age 88.