New material can extract atoms of rare or dangerous elements of air -
Scientists at Liverpool University have successfully tested a material that can extract atoms of rare or dangerous elements such as radon from the air
gases such as radon, xenon and krypton all occur naturally in the air, but in trace amounts. - Generally less than one part per million. Consequently, they are expensive to extract for use in industries such as lighting or medicine and, in the case of radon gas can accumulate in buildings. In the US alone, radon accounts for about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer per year.
Previous methods for the extraction of these elements involved cryogenic technology, which is energy intensive and expensive. But now chemists from the University of Liverpool alongside colleagues from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA used a "molecule organic cage" called CC3 to separate krypton, radon and xenon air at concentrations as low as a few parts per million.
Chemist, Professor Andy Cooper, led the study. He said: "If you imagine the sort of ball then you see the problem with sorting the atoms They are round in shape and of a similar size, not to mention that only one in every million marble is the one you search .. "
CP3 which was developed in Liverpool is a molecule that is composed of cavities, or cages, wherein the gas molecules such as xenon and radon correspond very precisely. By an adsorption process - where molecules or atoms stick to the surface -. Molecules right gas are held in place, while others such as water or nitrogen are released
Tests results using packed columns crystals CC3 produced far superior to the best current materials, raising the possibility that CC3 could be used for commercial processes, for example in cleaning nuclear waste or the adsorption and detection of radon gas in homes.
Further studies show that CC3 also has potential in the pharmaceutical industry, which uses molecules as raw materials in the production of medicines, and where these molecular loads must be separated from other closely related molecules
Professor Cooper concluded: "This material could resolve trade problems related to the extraction of rare gases or other molecules from highly diluted mixtures the key is to design exactly the right match between the.. cavity and the molecule you want to capture. "
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