ja312115x_si_001.pdf (2.4 MB)
Impact of Molecular Clustering inside Nanopores on Desorption Processes
journal contribution
posted on 2013-03-27, 00:00 authored by Manuel Tsotsalas, Pavel Hejcik, Kenji Sumida, Ziya Kalay, Shuhei Furukawa, Susumu KitagawaUnderstanding the sorption kinetics
of nanoporous systems is crucial
for the development and design of novel porous materials for practical
applications. Here, using a porous coordination polymer/quartz crystal
microbalance (PCP/QCM) hybrid device, we investigate the desorption
of various vapor molecules featuring different degrees of intermolecular
(hydrogen bonding) or molecule-framework interactions. Our findings
reveal that strong intermolecular interactions lead to the desorption
process proceeding via an unprecedented metastable state, wherein
the guest molecules are clustered within the pores, causing the desorption
rate to be temporarily slowed. The results demonstrate the considerable
impact of the chemical nature of an adsorbate on the kinetics of desorption,
which is also expected to influence the efficiency of certain processes,
such as desorption by gas purge.