This paper gives a brief overview of our recent work in the field of high pressure structural studies of metal organic framework materials. These are nanoporous materials which have found widespread application in the fields of gas separation and storage. Pressure provides a convenient tool to modify pore size and content without the need to alter the material chemically. Our techniques (high pressure single crystal diffraction and density functional theory) have allowed us to determine how the molecular frameworks change as a function of external pressure. The results have been surprising.