A new study conducted at Queen's University Belfast revealed a massive scientific breakthrough - the development of a porous liquid which could dissolve significant amounts of gases.
Researchers explained that the discovery of the porous liquid has the potential of solving the world's carbon emission woes through "carbon capture." Porous liquid could be used in trapping and storing amounts of carbon dioxide, they said.
Previously-developed porous materials are usually solid. Porous solids are commonly applied in petrol and plastic manufacturing. These materials have molecular holes or empty spaces. Porous liquids have "pores" in which they could store gases they absorb.
In a study issued in the journal Nature, scientists at Queen's explained that liquid solvents are the most effective catalysts in post-combustion capture of CO2, especially because liquid solvents can be easily retrofitted to power plants. They said that materials with permanent porosity could possibly be used in carbon capture, but conventional liquids do not have this property.
Researchers said they designed cage molecules for the experiment. These molecules provide well-defined amounts of porosity and are dissolved in an organic solvent which provides fluidity, they said. The molecules of the solvent are too large to enter the cage.
"What we have done is to design a special liquid from the 'bottom-up' - we designed the shapes of the molecules which make up the liquid so that the liquid could not fill up all the space," explained Professor Stuart James from the university's School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The porous liquid they developed has hundreds of times the porosity of conventional liquids.
James said these experiments are essential in understanding porous liquids as a novel type of material. The study's results indicate fascinating applications that rely on gas dissolution, he said, and these applications could be used for the long term.
The porous liquid could even be used in soaking up potent greenhouse gases such as methane, researchers said.
Meanwhile, James said that further research is needed to successfully transform these porous liquids in carbon trapping, but these materials could truly lead to improved or new chemical developments.
James added that at the very least, they have demonstrated a new scientific principle. Creating holes in liquids can significantly increase the amount of gas that can be dissolved, he said.
The study also included the efforts of researchers from universities in Argentina, France and Germany, as well as scientists from the University of Liverpool. It was funded by the Engineering Physical Science Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust.
