Interior Architecture at the Nanoscale

By Doris Griesser Although microporous crystals are tiny, their potential is enormous. To exploit this, TU Graz has initiated the interdisciplinary lead project Porous Materials@Work. Our life occurs in voids; for example, rooms in buildings are nothing but voids and these rooms and the furniture in them consist of materials full of voids. Porous materials are omnipresent - both in nature and in technology. Even the bodies of our cars become increasingly porous - in this case to reduce weight and to save fuel. Voids are extremely powerful, determining and changing the character of substances. Making a material porous by inflating it with air can change it into a detergent, trapping dirt in its voids.