Building a Better Hydrogen Trap

By coaxing the basic building blocks that make up ordinary plastics to form a crystal, researchers at the University of Michigan have created a new lightweight, rigid polymer that could one day be used to store hydrogen fuel.

Called a covalent organic framework (COF), the new material was made by slowing down the chemical reactions used to make plastics so that the molecules could organize themselves into a crystalline structure. Otherwise, the molecules would just assemble helter skelter.

COFs contain no metal and are made up only of light elements: hydrogen, boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. These elements can form a type of strong chemical bond called a covalent bond and make the COF very durable.

Because COFs are also very lightweight, they could provide a means of storing and transporting hydrogen fuel. The researchers also think COFs might also be useful in electronic devices or catalytic applications.

The finding was detailed in the Nov. 17 issue of the journal Science.

--Ker Than

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Credit:  Adrien Côté