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Science 1 November 2002:
Vol. 298. no. 5595, pp. 976 - 977
DOI: 10.1126/science.1078604
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Perspectives

MATERIALS SCIENCE:
Molecular "Ghosts"

Jonathan W. Steed

Molecules can rapidly diffuse through porous materials such as zeolites, but one would not expect them to diffuse through close-packed solids without disturbing the crystal structure of the solid. However, this is precisely what Atwood et al. observed when they dipped a calixarene crystal into vinyl bromide. In his Perspective, Steed predicts that this simple experiment will have tremendous implications for solid-state diffusion, because it is likely that similar processes can occur in other materials. Diffusion is likely to occur through a highly synchronized process.

The author is in the Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK. E-mail: jon.steed{at}kcl.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)