Microporous material

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A microporous material is a material containing pores with diameters less than 2
nm. Examples of microporous materials include zeolites and metal-organic
frameworks.

Porous materials are classified into several kinds by their size. The
recommendations of a panel convened by the International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry (IUPAC) are:[1]

microporous materials have pore diameters of less than 2 nm

mesoporous materials have pore diameters between 2 nm and 50 nm
macroporous materials have pore diameters of greater than 50 nm.
Micropores may be defined differently in other contexts. For example, in the
context of porous aggregations such as soil, micropores are defined as cavities
with sizes less than 30 �m.[2]

Contents
1 Uses in laboratories
2 Use in medicine
3 Other uses
4 See also
5 References
Uses in laboratories
Microporous materials are often used in laboratory environments to facilitate
contaminant-free exchange of gases. Mold spores, bacteria, and other airborne
contaminants will become trapped, while allowing gases to pass through the
material. This allows for a sterile environment within the contained area.

Use in medicine

Albupore microporous surgical tape

Microporous adhesive tape is a surgical tape used to hold wound dressings and
bandages in place, introduced in 1959 by 3M with the trade name Micropore.[3] It
can be used to hold gauze padding over small wounds, usually as a temporary measure
until a suitable dressing is applied.[4] The Steri-Strip was derived from
Microporous surgical tape.

Other uses
Microporous tape is used by some professional extreme yo-yoers to wrap around their
fingers and prevent string burn or irritation.

Rock climbers use microporous tape to wrap their hands in 'tape gloves', a means of
protecting the skin from rock abrasion when jamming hands into cracks as a means of
ascent (crack climbing, as opposed to face climbing - gripping holds on the face of
the rock).

Microporous media used in large format printing applications normally with a

pigment based ink to maintain colour balance and life expectancy of the resultant
printed image.

Microporous tape is also used by some film and TV sound recordists to affix small
radio microphones to actors' skin.

Microporous material is also used as high performance insulation material used from
home applications up to metal furnaces requiring material that can withstand more
than 1000 Celsius.
See also
Characterisation of pore space in soil
Nanoporous materials
Steri strip
Dressing (medical)
Conjugated microporous polymer, a type of microporous material