[[V001/JSI/Arhiv|{{attachment:Rubrike/T1007.jpg|News Archive|width="350px"}}|&do=get]]

Accurate detection of volatile organic compounds at trace concentrations holds a great promise for future health, safety, and environmental applications. In a recent [[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64199-z|Nature Communications]] report, Aleksander Matavž from the Condensed Matter Physics Department, together with colleagues from KU Leuven, address this challenge by introducing kinetic selectivity achievable in nanoporous crystals into the domain of chemical sensing. Their sensors measure the diffusion characteristics of adsorbed gases, which can differ by orders of magnitude even for very similar compounds. As a result, a single kinetic sensor can distinguish and quantify gases at ppm concentrations, even in mixtures with high humidity—outperforming a state-of-the-art commercial electronic nose. In addition to its applicative and market potential, the developed method represents a powerful tool for studying diffusion in thin films over a wide concentration and temperature range.