A crystalline substance with nanoscale channels was discovered to release water at temperatures as low as -70°C, potentially revolutionizing materials designed for atmospheric water extraction and significantly reducing energy costs associated with the process. Scientists at Stellenbosch Universi
Photomicographs of an initially red single crystal show how it transitions to yellow during dehydration at -20 °C. Credit: Alan Eaby, first published in Nature, Vol. 616, 13 April 2022, by Springer Naturechannels was discovered to release water at temperatures as low as -70°C, potentially revolutionizing materials designed for atmospheric water extraction and significantly reducing energy costs associated with the process.
The finding that a crystalline substance can readily give up water at temperatures as low as -70 °C, published on April 12 in the journal, has major implications for the development of materials designed to extract water from the atmosphere. The chemical compound in question was originally synthesized by Prof. Marcin Kwit, a specialist in organic stereochemistry at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland. It was then crystallized and brought to Prof. Barbour’s lab for further study by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Agnieszka Janiak. This was mainly because of Prof. Barbour’s interest in ring-shaped molecules and how they form channels when packed together in crystals.
Why do these crystals have such special properties? This question started a nearly ten-year investigation, which initially focused on explaining the mechanism behind the color change. Theoretical modeling by Prof. Esterhuysen and MSc student Dirkie Myburgh showed that water uptake causes slight changes in the electronic properties of the crystals, causing them to turn red. With such remarkable properties, Prof. Barbour was convinced that the crystals would also have other interesting properties.
After lots of conversations and coffee breaks with Profs Barbour and Esterhuysen, and tweaking the experimental setup several times, they realized that Alan’s observations could be explained by the narrowness of the channels in the material. The channels in the crystal are only one nanometre wide – one-thousandth the diameter of a human hair.
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