Separations with organic molecular solids

Use of a host material for the separation of elements or compounds,

• wherein the host material is an organic molecular solid with suitable cavities for accommodating a guest material to be separated, and with interconnections between the cavities to allow the guest material to diffuse through the host material,
• and wherein said interconnections have a static pore limiting diameter which is smaller than the static dimension of the guest material.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the host has a regular structure with one or two repeating cavities.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the number of interconnections to each cavity is at least three.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the host has a tetrahedral symmetry.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the host comprises molecular cages prepared by the condensation of aldehydes and amines in a cycloimination reaction.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim for the separation of rare gases.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim for the separation and concentration of radon gas from air to facilitate its detection.

Use as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the host material is crystalline.

Method for chemical separation comprising the use of any preceding claim.

Host material as defined in any preceding claim.

Host material as defined in any preceding claim which is not CC3.

Host material as defined in any preceding claim which is formed by imine condensation.

Host material as defined in any preceding claim which is not formed by imine condensation.

Analytical apparatus comprising a host material as defined in any preceding claim.