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According to a new study in the journal Science, researchers have improved a metallic crystal structure that can be used to store gases that are difficult to transport, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. The crystals are called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and they are porous structures that absorb and compress gases.

“We are reporting the ultimate porosity of a nano-material; we believe this to be the upper limit or very near the upper limit for porosity in materials,” says Omar Yaghi, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

To illustrate the amount of gas that can be stored in an MOF, Yaghi explains that one gram of MOFs would have an equivalent surface area of 5,000 square meters if flattened. “If I take a gram of MOF-200 and unravel it, it will cover many football fields, and that is the space you have for gases to assemble,” he says. “It's like magic.”

The researchers say that some applications for the crystals include carbon capture and hydrogen fuel storage. “MOFs are a gold mine,” says Yaghi.

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