Events

Event Description

Join the Physics Department for a Seminar by Professor Kristen Burson.

How to Trap Nobility Using Nanotechnology

Noble gases are important for energy production, medical imaging, and scientific studies. This aloof class of nobles is also famously non-reactive. The industry standard methods for collecting and purifying these gases are expensive and energy intensive, requiring cryogenic temperatures. My lab is turning to nanotechnology to isolate noble gases at room-temperature. Our method captures noble gases within metal-supported silica nanocages through physical confinement and electronic interactions (Xu et al, Small, 2021). In this mechanism, ionized noble gas enters a nanocage and is neutralized via electron donation from the substrate, rendering escape energetically unfavorable. Our studies explore the longevity of noble gas capture for noble gases as a function of metal substrate material and silica nanocage size. Near-monolayer films of cubic or hexagonal prism cages were established on metal single-crystals, exposed to a noble gas plasma, and analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to quantify noble gas capture. All hexagonal prism cages supported on three distinct metals (gold, silver, and ruthenium) each trapped xenon, with Xe remaining even after 12 hours at room temperature. Cubic cages excluded the larger xenon atoms, but retained argon, showing selectivity dependent on cage size and atom size. These findings pave the way for cost-effective and selective noble gas separation.