Recently, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have 

discovered how to use a two-dimensional cage to capture rare 

gases. These cages capture atoms of argon, krypton, and xenon at 

temperatures above freezing. Inert gases are the least reactive 

elements in the periodic table. They condense from the air at very 

low temperatures. Therefore, they are very difficult to capture at 

temperatures higher than the boiling point.

Scientists, industry, energy companies and others all need to 

capture inert gases at temperatures above the boiling point. 

However, it is extremely difficult to capture the atoms of these 

elements, because most nanomaterials have a weak trapping force, 

and these materials are only one billionth of a meter thick. 

Researchers at the national synchrotron radiation source II 

(nsls-ii) and functional nanomaterials center have now determined 

how two-dimensional nanocomposites are formed when ultrathin 

silica and aluminosilicate crystal cages capture argon, krypton or 

xenon at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers used XPS and DFT to show how these traps, called 

cage compounds, were formed by a new activated physical adsorption 

mechanism supported by chemical changes in rare gas atoms. The 

calculations are conducted at the center for scientific data and 

computing and the National Center for energy research and 

scientific computing, office of science user facilities, U.S. 

Department of energy. The inert gas ions are neutralized as they 

enter the cage, causing them to be trapped at temperatures much 

higher than the boiling point: 167 ° f for argon, 437 ° f for 

krypton and 752 ° f for xenon. This study may lead to new methods 

of gas capture and separation for environmental and health 

applications.