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Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have made a major breakthrough by creating a porous liquid with the potential for a massive range of new technologies including 'carbon capture'.
Researchers in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen's, along with colleagues at the University of Liverpool and other, international partners, have developed the new liquid and found that it can dissolve unusually large amounts of gas, which are absorbed into 'holes' within the liquid.
Professor Stuart James of Queen's School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering stated that "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."
What are Porous Materials?
Porous materials, are materials with holes, naked to the human eye but, visible on a molecular level.
These holes contain lots of 'empty space' that can be used in various industrial environments such as fuel manufacturing and plastics.
Porous liquids, or liquids with permanent microporosity, would be useful within environments with 'carbon capture technology' as the liquid could simply extract the carbon.
Take that a step further with regards to what scientists at Queens University of Belfast have created, we could be looking at a liquid with space to soak up greenhouse gases or other forms of pollution.