What is it about?
The stability of dyes can be enhanced by inserting them into the channels of porous materials called zeolites. The zeolites are resistant to heat and pressure, acting as a protective shield around the dye. Plugging the channel entrances, so that the included dyes cannot escape into the environment, is crucial for the long-term stability of these compounds, relevant in solar technologies. Our work shows how the zeolite channel entrances may be fully sealed by stopper molecules.
Featured Image
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Why is it important?
How does the entrance of a nanometric pore appear to an incoming molecule? This information is important for the fabrication of novel electro-optical materials for solar energy applications, because these materials can be realized by loading dye molecules inside the pores of zeolites. For the first time, our study provides a molecular-level view of the pore entrances, which could facilitate the rational design of these useful materials.
Perspectives
We showed that different types of stopper molecules may either block or leave partially accessible the entrances of a porous host material. Specifically, the pore occlusion depends on the size, shape, and chemical nature of the stopper. This knowledge would help to achieve precise chemical modification of zeolite-pores in advanced materials. As dye-zeolite hybrids are important building block for artificial antenna systems, our results could help improving such fascinating biomimetic devices.
Gloria Tabacchi
university of insubria
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Structure of Nanochannel Entrances in Stopcock-Functionalized Zeolite L Composites, Angewandte Chemie, August 2015, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201504745.
You can read the full text:
Resources
supporting information
- Detailed description of the models - Additional figures of the functionalized zeolite materials and of their channel openings
Academia.edu
Our article page in Academia
ResearchGate
Our article page in ResearchGate
Artificial Photosynthesis (Wikipedia)
To place our reseach in a broader context, here is a Wikipedia article on Artificial Photosynthesis mentioning dye-zeolite composites, and citing our paper.
Infographic explaining this paper
This infographic explains the basic concept of our work in 5 easy steps! Three formats are available (pdf, jpg, png).
Chemistry at Zeolite Entrances
Extended abstract of the contribution: "Chemistry at the entrances of Zeolite L nanochannels" (Oxide2016 conference, september 2016)
Full Paper - Open Access
Author version of this paper (accepted manuscript).
crossing channel entrances
This paper describes what happens when the zeolite channel entrances are not blocked.
Poster: "at the entrance of zeolite nanochannels"
Poster describing further development from this work presented at the 6th EuCheMS Congress in Seville and at the Oxide2016 Workshop in Naples
The devil makes the pots but not the lids
An informal blog post, describing this research and its practical application in the production of a new pigment.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
