Solid state chemistry

Research Group       

University of Reading

Microporous Chalcogenides

Powell and Vaqueiro

What are microporous solids?

Microporous solids contain regular arrays of molecule-sized channels and cavities, of up to 2 nm, and have high surface areas. These materials are able to adsorb molecules reversibly and selectively based on differences in their size and shape. For this reason, microporous solids are promising materials for gas storage (e.g hydrogen), CO2 separation, and for catalysis applications. 

[C7H10N][In9Se14][C7H10N][In9Se14]

Our research

Much of our research on microporous solids focuses on the design of multifunctional materials, combining the properties of conventional porous solids, such as zeolites, with semiconducting behaviour. In particular, we are seeking to produce new porous semiconducting chalcogenides, containing sulphide, selenide or telluride units. This work may lead to microporous materials with improved gas selectivity, due to the highly polarisable surfaces found in metal chalcogenides, and with the ability to resist sulphur poisoning. In addition, their semiconducting behaviour may result in additional applications, including molecule discriminating sensors (or "chemical noses").