Dry water stores 175 v(STP)/v methane at 2.7 MPa and 273.2 K in a hydrate form which is close to the Department of Energy volumetric target for methane storage. Dry water is a silica-stabilized free-flowing powder (95% wt water), and fast methane uptakes were observed (90% saturation uptake in 160 min with no mixing) as a result of the relatively large surface-to-volume ratio of this material.

Room temperature phosphorescence materials have inspired extensive attention owing to their great potential in optical applications. However, it is hard to achieve a room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous long lifetime and high phosphorescence quantum efficiency. Herein, multi-confined carbon dots were designed and fabricated, enabling room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and excellent stability. The multi-confinement by a highly rigid network, stable covalent bonding, and 3D spatial restriction efficiently rigidified the triplet excited states of carbon dots from non-radiative deactivation. The as-designed multi-confined carbon dots exhibit ultralong lifetime of 5.72 s, phosphorescence quantum efficiency of 26.36%, and exceptional stability against strong oxidants, acids and bases, as well as polar solvents. This work provides design principles and a universal strategy to construct metal-free room temperature phosphorescence materials with ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and high stability for promising applications, especially under harsh conditions.

Methane is important in future energy schemes. The main strategies for storing and transporting methane are compression, liquefaction, and physical adsorption in synthetic porous materials. Here, we show that methane can be stored in a hydrated form using natural amino acids such as leucines as effective promoters to form methane hydrate with a high formation rate and a high capacity. In addition, the methane hydrate formed from the L‐leucine solution dissociates without foaming phenomenon. We also showed that the heavier hydrocarbons in natural gas can enhance the promoting effect of L‐leucine.

"Dry water" (DW) is a free-flowing powder prepared by mixing water, hydrophobic silica particles, and air at high speeds. We demonstrated recently that DW can be used to dramatically enhance methane uptake rates in methane gas hydrate (MGH). Here, we expand on our initial work, demonstrating that DW can be used to increase the kinetics of formation of gas clathrates for gases other than methane, such as CO(2) and Kr. We also show that the stability of the system toward coalescence can be increased via the inclusion of a gelling agent to form a "dry gel", thus dramatically improving the recyclability of the material. For example, the addition of gellan gum allows effective reuse over at least eight clathration cycles without the need for reblending. DW and its "dry gel" modification may represent a potential platform for recyclable gas storage or gas separation on a practicable time scale in a static, unmixed system.