A new porous material has been discovered that could revolutionize the capture of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, promising a significant impact in the fight against global warming
A team of researchers fromHeriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has made a revolutionary discovery that could change the rules of the game in the fight against global warming. They developed a unique material, made up of cage-shaped molecules, capable of capturing greenhouse gases with surprising efficiency. These molecules are particularly effective at absorbing carbon dioxide and sulfur hexafluoride, a potent man-made greenhouse gas that can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
Doctor Marc Littleone of the leaders of this research, emphasized the importance of the discovery in addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges:
Direct capture of carbon dioxide from the air becomes essential not only to stop future emissions, but also to eliminate past emissions already present in the environment. While reforestation is an effective method for absorbing carbon, it is a slow process and requires faster solutions, such as human intervention via synthetic molecules for efficient and fast capture of greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gases, the main causes of global warming, act like the walls of a greenhouse, retaining heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. While carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas, sulfur hexafluoride is considerably more effective at storing heat and is produced artificially.
The use of computer simulation and Artificial Intelligence to develop new materials
©Nature Synthesis
The research team used computer simulations to predict the self-assembly of molecules in this new material. These techniques, as Dr. Little explains, could be further enhanced by the use ofartificial intelligencemaking a significant contribution to the creation of new materials capable of addressing urgent challenges, without the need to be synthesized in the laboratory.
This is an exciting discovery because we need new porous materials to help solve society’s biggest challenges. We see this study as an important step towards unlocking such applications in the future and developing other materials with complex structures that could remove volatile toxic compounds from the air and also find important applications in the medical field.
The project involved the collaboration of scientists from the University of Liverpool, Imperial College London, the University of Southampton and the East China University of Science and Technology. It was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust, and the results were published in the journal Nature Synthesis.
Don’t want to miss our news?
Source: Nature Synthesis – Heriot-Watt University
You might also be interested in:
