Porous metals and ceramic materials are of critical importance in catalysis, sensing, and adsorption technologies and exhibit unusual mechanical, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties compared to nonporous bulk materials. Materials with nanoscale porosity often are formed through molecular self-assembly processes that lock in a particular length scale; consider, for instance, the assembly of crystalline mesoporous zeolites with a pore size of 2–50 nm or the evolution of structural domains in block copolymers. Of recent interest has been the identification of general kinetic pattern-forming principles that underlie the formation of mesoporous materials without a locked- in length scale. When materials are kinetically locked out of thermodynamic equilibrium, temperature or chemistry can be used as a “knob” to tune their microstructure and properties. In this issue of the MRS Bulletin, we explore new porous metal and ceramic materials, which we collectively refer to as “hard” materials, formed by pattern-forming instabilities, either in the bulk or at interfaces, and discuss how such nonequilibrium processing can be used to tune porosity and properties. The focus on hard materials here involves thermal, chemical, and electrochemical processing usually not compatible with soft (for example, polymeric) porous materials and generally adds to the rich variety of routes to fabricate porous materials.

Nanoporous metals (NPMs) made by dealloying represent a class of functional materials with the unique structural properties of mechanical rigidity, electrical conductivity, and high corrosion resistance. They also possess a porous network structure with feature dimensions tunable within a wide range from a few nanometers to several microns. Coupled with a rich surface chemistry for further functionalization, NPMs have great potential for applications in heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis, fuel cell technologies, biomolecular sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and plasmonics. This article summarizes recent advances in some of these areas and, in particular, we focus on the discussion of microstructure, catalytic, and optical properties of nanoporous gold (NPG). With advanced electron microscopy, three-dimensional tomographic reconstructions of NPG have been realized that yield quantitative characterizations of key morphological parameters involved in the intricate structure. Catalytic and electrocatalytic investigations demonstrate that bare NPG is already catalytically active for many important reactions such as CO and glucose oxidation. Surface functionalization with other metals, such as Pt, produces very efficient electrocatalysts, which have been used as promising fuel cell electrode materials with very low precious metal loading. Additionally, NPG and related materials possess outstanding optical properties in plasmonics and SERS. They hold promise to act as highly active, stable, and economically affordable substrates in high-performance instrumentation applications for chemical inspection and biomolecular diagnostics. Finally, we conclude with some perspectives that appear to warrant future investigation.

Nanoporous metals prepared by the corrosion of an alloy can take the form of monolithic, millimeter-sized bodies containing approximately 1015 nanoscale ligaments per cubic millimeter. The ligament size can reach down to the very limits of stability of nanoscale objects. The processes by which nanoporous metals are formed have continued to be fascinating, even though their study in relation to surface treatment, metal refinement, and failure mechanisms can be traced back to ancient times. In fact, the prospect of using alloy corrosion as a means of making nanomaterials for fundamental studies and functional applications has led to a revived interest in the process. The quite distinct mechanical properties of nanoporous metals are one of the focus points of this interest, as relevant studies probe the deformation behavior of crystals at the lower end of the size scale. Furthermore, the coupling of bulk stress and strain to the forces acting along the surface of nanoporous metals provide unique opportunities for controlling the mechanical behavior through external variables such as the electrical or chemical potentials.

Controlled pore glasses are formed through selective etching of one phase of a spinodally decomposed borosilicate glass, an old technique that is the basis of the porous Vycor synthesis technique developed in the 1920s. This technique is receiving renewed attention as these glasses find new applications as substrates for biosensing, bioreactors, precise filtration, and chromatography. Analogous techniques are being applied to crystalline ceramics, such as directed cooling of ZrO2/MgO and MgAl2O4/Al2O3 eutectics to drive phase separation with the subsequent dissolution of one phase. Pyrolytic reactive sintering is a combination of the phase separation method and the reactive sintering method to obtain a 3D porous structure network. For example, dolomite (CaMg[CO3]2) and ZrO2 yield a uniformly porous CaZrO3/MgO composite that utilizes evolved CO2 as a “pore-forming agent.” This article gives an overview of recent developments on meso- and macroporous ceramics based on phase separation and reactive sintering technologies.

Many of the porous materials used in laboratory and industrial processes do not have simple regular or crystalline structures. This greatly complicates efforts to characterize them and to understand and optimize their performance for particular applications. This review surveys recent efforts to use simulation and modeling to better understand the structure and performance of several classes of materials, including phase-separated glasses, sol-gel–derived materials, templated silica materials, and activated carbons. Approaches to modeling these materials fall generally into two classes: reconstructions, which generate models based on experimental measurements, and mimetic simulations, which attempt to model the preparation of the materials. While significant progress has been made in many respects, both reconstructive and mimetic transferred currently available are often computationally intensive and not easily transferable between different classes of materials. Finally, since gas adsorption is used widely as a characterization tool for amorphous porous materials and is often the focus of the materials' application, recent developments in simulation and theory appropriate to the study of capillary phenomena in amorphous porous materials are reviewed.

Speed is the ultimate goal of racing, and materials are an increasingly important area of research for making race cars faster. The splitter, which produces front downforce, is made from Tegris, a polypropylene composite offering comparable stiffness and improved impact properties at significantly lower cost than alternative materials. Engine blocks must be cast iron, but careful control of microstructure using precision manufacturing methods produces a lighter engine block that generates more horsepower.

Speed and excitement must be balanced with safety, and materials are key players here, as well. Energy-dissipating foams in the car and the barriers surrounding the tracks allow drivers to walk away uninjured from accidents. Fire-resistant polymers protect drivers from high-temperature fuel fires, and technology transfer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in the form of a low-temperature carbon monoxide catalyst filters the drivers' air.

Sports are an outstanding way of showing the public how materials science and engineering are relevant to their lives and interests. Materials science and engineering is just that much more exciting when it's traveling at two hundred miles an hour.