Crystal sponges capture carbon emissions

CRYSTALLINE sponges pocked with pores that are just the right size to trap carbon dioxide molecules could filter the fumes from power stations and cars. What’s more, the trapped CO₂ can then be sucked from the crystals and piped into containers and buried underground, allowing the crystals to be reused.

Carbon capture and storage has been touted as a powerful weapon against global warming. Until now, the only way to strip CO₂ from car exhaust, flue gases or power-plant emissions was to bubble them through a solvent that reacts with CO₂. The trouble is that subsequently…