Stabilizing Reactive Gases via MOF Adsorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Highly reactive gases such as arsine, phosphine, borane, and diborane decompose easily, requiring storage at diluted concentrations or cryogenic temperatures to prevent decomposition and explosion, which limits volumetric loading and customization of gas mixtures.
Innovation Solution
Adsorbing these gases onto metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with Lewis basic functional groups or inert moieties that passivate the adsorbent material, allowing for stable storage by forming labile Lewis acid-base adducts or segregating gas molecules within precise pore sizes, thereby reducing decomposition rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If highly reactive gases are stored at diluted concentrations, then decomposition and explosion risks are reduced, but volumetric loading is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous adsorbent materials with specifically engineered pore sizes that can accommodate single molecules of highly reactive gases. The porous structure allows high volumetric loading while maintaining gas stability through adsorption, resolving the contradiction between reliability and quantity of substance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces Lewis basic functional groups at specific locations within the adsorbent material to create localized stabilization zones. This local quality approach allows the gas to be stabilized at the molecular level through Lewis acid-base interactions while maintaining high concentration storage, addressing both reliability and volumetric loading requirements.
2Reliability
If highly reactive gases are stored at cryogenic temperatures, then decomposition and explosion risks are reduced, but storage complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/thermal approach (cryogenic cooling) with a chemical approach (Lewis acid-base interactions in porous materials). This substitution eliminates the need for complex cryogenic temperature control systems while maintaining gas stability, thereby reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the stabilization mechanism from temperature-based (cryogenic) to chemical interaction-based (Lewis acid-base adduct formation). This parameter change allows storage at ambient temperatures, significantly reducing storage system complexity and energy consumption while maintaining reliability.
3Reliability
If highly reactive gases are stored at diluted concentrations, then decomposition rates are reduced, but in-situ impurity generation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces Lewis basic functional groups as intermediaries between the highly reactive gas (Lewis acid) and the adsorbent material. These intermediary groups form stable Lewis acid-base adducts that prevent direct decomposition reactions and minimize impurity generation, maintaining both reliability and gas purity.
4Quantity of substance
If highly reactive gases are stored neat (undiluted), then volumetric loading is maximized, but decomposition and explosion risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses porous adsorbent materials with optimized pore sizes to store neat (undiluted) highly reactive gases. The porous structure provides high volumetric loading while the adsorption interactions within the pores stabilize the gas molecules, preventing decomposition and enabling safe storage of concentrated gases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates localized stabilization environments within the porous adsorbent using Lewis basic functional groups. This local quality approach stabilizes individual gas molecules at high concentrations without requiring bulk dilution, thereby achieving both high volumetric loading and maintained reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adsorption method stabilizes highly reactive gases, reducing decomposition rates and maintaining storage capacity, allowing for safer and more efficient storage at ambient conditions without the need for dilution or cryogenic temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
The gas and the MOF form a labile Lewis acid-base adduct which lowers a rate of decomposition of the highly reactive gas
Implementation Method 2
pores of a size to hold a single molecule of the highly reactive gas
Implementation Method 3
the highly reactive gas reacts with moieties of the adsorbent material resulting in passivation of the adsorbent material
Data Source
AI summary
A method of adsorbing a highly reactive gas onto an adsorbent material comprising adsorbing the highly reactive gas to the adsorbent material. The adsorbent material comprises at least one Lewis basic functional group, or pores of a size to hold a single molecule of the highly reactive gas, or inert moieties which are provided to the adsorbent material at the same time at the same time as the highly reactive gas, prior to adsorbing the highly reactive gas or after adsorbing the highly reactive gas, or the highly reactive gas reacts with moieties of the adsorbent material resulting in passivation of the adsorbent material. A rate of decomposition of the adsorbed highly reactive gas is lower than a rate of decomposition for the neat gas at equal volumetric loadings and equal temperatures for both the adsorbed highly reactive gas and the neat gas.