It doesn’t look like much, but scientists from Sweden’s Uppsala University are calling a newly created form of magnesium carbonate an “impossible” material.
Dubbed upsalite, the highly porous material sets new records for surface area and water absorption, according to a written statement issued by the university. It is expected to have all sorts of applications, from controlling moisture in processes used by the electronics and pharmaceutical industries to sopping up toxins in the aftermath of chemical and oil spills.
“In contrast to what has been claimed for more than 100 years in the scientific literature, we have found that amorphous magnesium carbonate can be made in a very simple, low-temperature process,” study co-author Johan Goméz de la Torre, a researcher in the university’s nanotechnology and functional materials division, said in the statement.
Source: Huffington Post
