A team of researchers from different international institutions has developed a porous liquid material capable of absorbing large amounts of gas, which is trapped in the cavities formed by the new substance.
According to these experts in the journal Nature , this advance combines the advantages of two compounds used in the industry for the same purpose, liquid solvents and porous solids. The former are used to a greater extent to retain carbon dioxide, since the systems through which they circulate can be more easily integrated into the facilities . Porous solids, on the other hand, work better as adsorbents, but are more difficult to implement.
“Porous materials, that is, those with permanent cavities, are very important for the industry. They are used for many things, for example, in the processing of many petroleum products, such as the manufacture of plastic bottles.
Until now, these kinds of compounds were solid, ”says Stuart L. James, one of the study’s co-authors, from the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University in Belfast. “Conventional fluids don’t have permanent porosity, so what we’ve done is come up with a special liquid that does. To do this, we have shaped the molecules that constitute it, so that the liquid does not occupy all the space and forms a hole.
After the first experiments we found out that it shows interesting chemical applications, especially in the dissolution of gases ”, indicates this professor. The researchers who have participated in this project believe that from their findings new systems could be devised capable of trapping some greenhouse gases that are generated in industrial processes and storing them before they reach the atmosphere.
Image: Queen’s University (Belfast)
