Molecular sieve

A molecular sieve is a material with pores of uniform size comparable to that of individual molecules, linking the interior of the solid to its exterior. These materials embody the molecular sieve effect, in which molecules larger than the pores are preferentially sieved, allowing for the selective adsorption of specific compounds based on their molecular size. Many kinds of materials exhibit some molecular sieves, but zeolites dominate the field. Zeolites are almost always aluminosilicates, or variants where some or all of the Si or Al centers are replaced by similarly charged elements.