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Graphene Membranes Superpermeable to Water

Posted by Soulskill on from the it-slices-it-dices dept.

Dr Max writes "Not only is graphene the strongest, thinnest and best conducting material known to man, it is now shown to have superpermeability with respect to water as well. This allows a membrane made with graphene to pass water right through it (PDF), while another atom or molecule (even helium) gets blocked. 'The properties are so unusual that it is hard to imagine that they cannot find some use in the design of filtration, separation or barrier membranes and for selective removal of water,' said one of the researchers."

11 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. Does this mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...you don't need a pressure source like you do for reverse osmosis?

    1. Re:Does this mean... by imboboage0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      After reading the second article, I'm not sure. I didn't read in detail, but they did some experiments with a pump. I'm not sure if it's required, but that is how they did it to research it.

      --
      Honesty may be the best policy, but by process of elimination, dishonesty is the second best policy.
    2. Re:Does this mean... by chill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, but here they're showing that the membrane allows WATER through but will stop HELIUM. If I'm not mistaken, helium molecules are smallerthan water molecules. That's the freakish quality.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    3. Re:Does this mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're using energy to get that water higher than it's final location, just like a pump.

    4. Re:Does this mean... by Khyber · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oxygen being in the center of a water molecule pretty much makes it larger than helium in ALL directions.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  2. Used to collect gifts from Shai-Hulud by geekopus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now we know what the water receptacles in Dune were made of.

  3. Fresh water? by gmuslera · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So you could pass thru i.e. ocean or contaminated water and get fresh, drinkable, pure water on the other side? If that could scale could be great.

    1. Re:Fresh water? by tzot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The atoms might be at least 4.5 billion years old, but not *every* molecule of water is of that age.

      --
      I speak England very best
    2. Re:Fresh water? by cunniff · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Spend a little time thinking about it, and you will realize that distilled water urban legend is silly. In your mouth, it is mixed with saliva and mucous and whatever else is stuck to your teeth, gums, and tongue. The instant it hits your stomach, it is mixed with stomach acids and whatever you ate recently. I.e. it is no longer pure distilled water. From there, the molecules wander through your body like any other water molecule. Distilling water does not give its component molecules magic properties.

    3. Re:Fresh water? by Tsingi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Water is formed from hydrogen and oxygen. It is not inert, it decomposes and reforms constantly. So, no, water molecules are not at least 4.5 billion years old.

      The hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up water, or at least most of them, may well be much older than that. Particularly the hydrogen, which may be over 13 billion years old.

  4. If it blocks Helium by DickBreath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If it blocks Helium this has very important applications.

    Helium molecules are very small. It is difficult to contain Helium gas in cylinders.

    There are even far more important applications for the global economy. It may finally be possible to make Helium balloons that don't leak the tiny molecules so quickly.

    --

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