By Fernando Gomollón-Bel2021-04-23T08:30:00+01:00 A new study has unveiled the molecular mechanisms that explain why porous materials can absorb violent shocks. The work also provides clues on how it might be possible to design new materials to withstand heavy impacts. Porous materials are widely known for their applications in gas adsorption and filtration. But, for decades, scientists have also been interested in their shock-absorbing potential. Researchers from Belgium and the UK were studying this shock-absorption behaviour in zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a type of metal-organic frameworks with structural and topological properties that are characteristic of zeolites. ‘Originally, they were not created for shock absorption,’ explains Yueting Sun from the University of Birmingham, UK, co-first author of the paper. ‘However, this was a known application in zeolites and, given their similarities, the connection seemed pretty evident.’