The material that could save the planet. Scientists have discovered how greenhouse gases can be stored
Scientists have welcomed the discovery of a type of porous material capable of storing carbon dioxide.
In the new study published in the journal Nature Synthesis, a team led by researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh created hollow cage-like molecules with high capacities for storing greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulfur hexafluoride.
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Sulfur hexafluoride is a greenhouse gas stronger than carbon dioxide that can persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
"This is an interesting discovery because we need new porous materials to help address society's biggest challenges. For example, direct air capture of carbon dioxide is becoming increasingly important because even when we stop emitting carbon dioxide, there will still be a huge need to capture previous emissions that are already in the environment", said Marc Little, one of the study's coordinators.
"Tree planting is a very effective way to absorb carbon, but it's very slow. So, we need human intervention - such as man-made molecules - to capture greenhouse gases from the environment more quickly and efficiently", he added.
Researchers used computer simulations to accurately predict how molecules would assemble in the new porous material, a method that, according to Marc Little, could be improved in the future through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
"Combining computational studies like ours with new artificial intelligence technologies could create an unprecedented array of new materials to address the most pressing societal challenges, and this study is an important step in that direction. If we can use AI tools to predict them faster and more accurately, then we can truly accelerate the pace at which we can discover these new types of porous materials, without the need to manufacture them in advance in the laboratory", he said.
Marc Little described the study as an important step for the development of other materials and added that complex structured molecules could also be used to remove toxic compounds known as volatile organic compounds from the air and could play a significant role in medical science.
In addition to scientists from Heriot-Watt University, researchers from the University of Liverpool, Imperial College London, the University of Southampton and the East China University of Science and Technology were involved in this study.
