{"title":"Trapping Xe in Nanocages Using a Plasma.","authors":"Laiba Bilal, Asim Khaniya, Dustin Olson, Staci Moulton, Arrelaine Dameron, Xiao Tong, Lynne Ecker, Dario Stacchiola, Jorge Anibal Boscoboinik","doi":"10.1002/smsc.202500136","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Xenon (Xe), the largest noble gas with nonradioactive isotopes, is difficult to contain in a solid matrix. This study demonstrates the trapping of Xe single atoms within subnanometer-sized silicate nanocages (NC) supported on metal powders. The Xe gas is first ionized using a plasma. The ions then enter the NC and get trapped in the solid upon gaining an electron from the metal support. This work presents the first demonstration of room-temperature trapping of Xe atoms in a high-surface-area material using a simple ionization method. This can lead to various practical applications such as Xe separation from air, improving the efficiency and safety of nuclear reactors, aiding in nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and producing medical isotopes, among many others.</p>","PeriodicalId":29791,"journal":{"name":"Small Science","volume":"5 10","pages":"2500136"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12499482/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Small Science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202500136","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/10/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Xenon (Xe), the largest noble gas with nonradioactive isotopes, is difficult to contain in a solid matrix. This study demonstrates the trapping of Xe single atoms within subnanometer-sized silicate nanocages (NC) supported on metal powders. The Xe gas is first ionized using a plasma. The ions then enter the NC and get trapped in the solid upon gaining an electron from the metal support. This work presents the first demonstration of room-temperature trapping of Xe atoms in a high-surface-area material using a simple ionization method. This can lead to various practical applications such as Xe separation from air, improving the efficiency and safety of nuclear reactors, aiding in nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and producing medical isotopes, among many others.
期刊介绍:
Small Science is a premium multidisciplinary open access journal dedicated to publishing impactful research from all areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology. It features interdisciplinary original research and focused review articles on relevant topics. The journal covers design, characterization, mechanism, technology, and application of micro-/nanoscale structures and systems in various fields including physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, environmental science, life science, biology, and medicine. It welcomes innovative interdisciplinary research and its readership includes professionals from academia and industry in fields such as chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, engineering, and environmental and analytical science. Small Science is indexed and abstracted in CAS, DOAJ, Clarivate Analytics, ProQuest Central, Publicly Available Content Database, Science Database, SCOPUS, and Web of Science.