Turning Molecular Springs into Nano-Shock Absorbers: The Effect of Macroscopic Morphology and Crystal Size on the Dynamic Hysteresis of Water Intrusion–Extrusion into-from Hydrophobic Nanopores

Abstract

neutron scattering. We report a drastic increase in intrusion-extrusion dynamic hysteresis when going from a fine powder to a dense monolith configuration, transforming an intermediate performance of the ZIF-8 + water system (poor molecular spring) into a desirable shock-absorber with more than 1 order of magnitude enhancement of dissipated energy per cycle. The obtained results are supported by MD simulations and pave the way for an alternative methodology of tuning intrusion-extrusion pressure using a macroscopic arrangement of nanoporous material.