Gram-scale synthesis of new MOF material promises low-pressure methane storage
15-Mar-2013
- USA
Scientists looking at novel ways to store natural gas have made a metal-organic framework (MOF) that can store methane at much lower pressures than are required when using conventional liquid gas tanks. They report the gram-scale synthesis of the compound – dubbed NU-125 – and demonstrate its potential use in natural-gas powered vehicles.
NU-125 is made from a copper II salt and a hexa-carboxylic acid linker. At a pressure of 58 bar it can store 86 per cent as much methane as can be held in a liquefied-gas tank at 248 bar. This ability to store gas at lower pressures could lower the technical and economic barriers to the routine use of natural gas in transport.
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