Self-Accelerating CO Sorption in a Soft Nanoporous Crystal

Soft, Selective CO Sorption Many industrial processes produce CO, which could be used as a chemical feedstock, but separation of CO from other gases, especially N 2 , is too difficult to be economically viable. Sato et al. (p. 167 , published online 12 December 2013) now report that a porous coordination polymer containing Cu 2+ ions can selectivity bind CO through serial structural changes reminiscent of allosteric effects in proteins. The separation of CO-N 2 mixtures can be achieved with a low input energy for CO desorption.