A microporous material is a material containing pores with diameters less than 2 nm.

Porous materials are classified into several kinds by their size. According to IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science . The international headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zürich,...

 notation (see J. Rouquerol et al., Pure & Appl. Chem, 66 (1994) 1739-1758), microporous materials have pore diameters of less than 2 nm, mesoporous material

Mesoporous material

A mesoporous material is a material containing pores with diameters between 2 and 50 nm.Porous materials are classified into several kinds by their size...

s have pore diameters between 2 nm and 50 nm and macroporous materials have pore diameters of greater than 50 nm.

Uses in laboratories

Microporous materials are often used in laboratory environments to facilitate contaminant-free exchange of gases. Mold spores, bacteria, and other airborne contaminants will become trapped, while allowing gases to pass through the material. This allows for a sterile environment in the contained area.

Uses in first aid

Microporous materials are also used in first aid

First aid

First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...

, commonly under the tradename Micropore, first invented by 3M in 1959. Microporous adhesive tape can be used to affix dressings to wounds, and to hold bandages in place. If necessary it can be used to cover small wounds with gauze padding, usually as a temporary measure until a proper dressing

Dressing

Dressing may refer to:* Dressing , a medical covering for a wound, usually made of cloth* Ore dressing* Salad dressing, a type of sauce which is generally poured on a salad, or spread on the bread of a sandwich...

 and bandage

Bandage

A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to the body; they can also be used to restrict a part of the body. During heavy bleeding or following a poisonous bite it is important to slow the flow of blood,...

 are available. The steri-strip was derived from Microporous surgical tape.

Other uses

Microporous tape is used by some professional yo-yoers to wrap around their fingers and prevent string burn or irritation.

Microporous media used in large format printing applications normally with a pigment based ink to maintain colour balance and life expectancy of the resultant printed image.

Microporous tape is also used by some film and TV sound recordists to fix small radio microphones to actor's skin.

See also

• Nanoporous materials
  Nanoporous
  Nanoporous materials consist of a regular organic or inorganic framework supporting a regular, porous structure. Pores are by definition roughly in the nanometre range, that is between 1x10−7 and 0.2x10−9 m.Subdivisions:...
  
  
• Steri strip
  Steri strip
  Steri-strips are 3M's Nexcare branded thin adhesive strips which can be used to close small wounds, generically known as butterfly stitches. They are applied across the laceration in a manner which pulls the skin on either side of the wound together...
  
  
• Dressing (medical)
  Dressing (medical)
  A dressing is an adjunct used by a person for application to a wound to promote healing and/or prevent further harm. A dressing is designed to be in direct contact with the wound, which makes it different from a bandage, which is primarily used to hold a dressing in place...
  
  
• Conjugated microporous polymer
  Conjugated microporous polymer
  Conjugated microporous polymers are a sub-class of porous materials, related to structures such as zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, and covalent organic frameworks, but amorphous in nature, rather than crystalline...
  
  , a type of microporous material