COF-108: Credit: José L. Mendoza-CortésOmar Yaghi was named one of the "Brilliant 10" by Popular Science magazine last fall, describing him as a "hydrogen nano-architect". Like an architect, Yaghi links together well-defined molecules like building blocks to create porous crystalline structures. Referred to as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, these crystal sponges have nanosized openings which can be customized to soak up only molecules of a particular size (like hydrogen or methane). MOFs could lead to the first workable fuel tanks for a hydrogen cars, or laptops and cell phones.
Yaghi's newest material, called covalent organic frameworks, or COFs "(pronounced "coffs") are crystalline porous organic networks. A member of this series, COF-108, has the lowest density reported of any crystalline material. One gram of COF-108, has a surface area equal to 30 tennis courts. Yaghi specifically cited COFs as a possible storage medium for carbon dioxide capture and sequestration systems.
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