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Extreme Confinement of Xenon by Cryptophane‐111 in the Solid State
Author(s) -
Joseph Akil I.,
Lapidus Saul H.,
Kane Christopher M.,
Holman K. Travis
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201409415
Subject(s) - xenon , noble gas , krypton , clathrate hydrate , crystal (programming language) , chemistry , molecule , noble metal , crystal structure , materials science , chemical physics , crystallography , nanotechnology , hydrate , metal , organic chemistry , computer science , programming language
Solids that sorb, capture and/or store the heavier noble gases are of interest because of their potential for transformative rare gas separation/production, storage, or recovery technologies. Herein, we report the isolation, crystal structures, and thermal stabilities of a series of xenon and krypton clathrates of (±)‐cryptophane‐111 ( 111 ). One trigonal crystal form, Xe@ 111⋅ y (solvent), is exceptionally stable, retaining xenon at temperatures of up to about 300 °C. The high kinetic stability is attributable not only to the high xenon affinity and cage‐like nature of the host, but also to the crystal packing of the clathrate, wherein each window of the molecular container is blocked by the bridges of adjacent containers, effectively imprisoning the noble gas in the solid state. The results highlight the potential of discrete molecule materials exhibiting intrinsic microcavities or zero‐dimensional pores.