Cover article in Nature Chemistry

A research team from the University of Calgary and the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (Ottawa) has published a cover article in Nature Chemistry

J.A. Hurd, R. Vaidhyanathan, V. Thangadurai, C.I. Ratcliffe, I.L. Moudrakovski and G.K.H. Shimizu, "Proton Conduction at 150°C in a Nanoporous Metal-Organic Framework," Nature Chemistry 1 (2009) 705-710. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.402

"Materials built from metal centres and organic ligands have traditionally attracted attention for their channels' host–guest properties. Now, controlling the occupancy of the channels by guest molecules has resulted in a framework that conducts protons under anhydrous conditions and acts as a gas-tight membrane, offering a promising approach to fuel-cell electrolytes."

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy was instrumental in this research.

The paper is also accompanied by the Nature's commentary:

Hiroshi Kitagawa, "Metal–organic frameworks: Transported into fuel cells," Nature Chemistry 1 (2009) 689-690. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.454