BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Nov. 11 (UPI) — Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have designed a liquid with holes in it, the world’s first “porous liquid.”
Until now, material scientists had only created porous solids. But their latest invention is a liquid with “permanent porosity.” It’s not a naturally occurring substances, but one designed from the ground up.
Researchers at the Northern Ireland university pieced together molecules to form a liquid unable to entirely fill up space. The liquid molecules bond in a way that leave holes. These holes allow the liquid to absorb and dissolve gas more efficiently. Such an ability could make for game-changing industrial applications.
One of the most obvious applications is in the process of carbon capture — trapping carbon dioxide from power plants and other industrial sources.
Scientists described their new liquid in the journal Nature.
“A few more years’ research will be needed, but if we can find applications for these porous liquids they could result in new or improved chemical processes,” study author Stuart James, a professor in the Queen’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, said in a press release.
“At the very least, we have managed to demonstrate a very new principle — that by creating holes in liquids we can dramatically increase the amount of gas they can dissolve,” James added. “These remarkable properties suggest interesting applications in the long term.”
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