DATE2025.05.19 #Press Releases
Development of a Material That Extracts Water Through Pressurization
Summary
Copper–chromium Prussian blue analog (CuCr PBA) is a compound with voids (pores) within its crystal structure. A research team led by Professor Hiroko Tokoro from the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences at the University of Tsukuba and Professor Shin-ichi Ohkoshi from the School of Science at The University of Tokyo discovered that applying pressure to this material can expel water stored inside its structure.
Traditional on-site water production technologies rely on temperature or humidity differences, making them dependent on environmental conditions and requiring long periods for environmental changes to occur. In contrast, this material demonstrated that water extraction is possible through simple pressurization, without the need for temperature or humidity control.
In this study, when a pressure of 1 GPa was applied to the copper–chromium Prussian blue analog, water stored in the pores of the crystal was expelled, producing visible water droplets. It was found that approximately 240 g of water could be obtained per kilogram of the material. Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements before and after pressurization revealed that the electronic state of copper and the water molecules within the pores changed under pressure. This change caused the hydrophilic pores to become hydrophobic, leading to water expulsion.
This achievement is expected to contribute to the realization of new on-site water production technologies in harsh environments, such as arid regions, and provide a new perspective for the development of water resource recycling technologies.
Figure: Water Production Experiment Using Pressure Application on Copper–Chromium Prussian Blue Analog (CuCr PBA)
(a) Powdered sample is packed into a mold, (b) Molded using a pellet press, (c) Pressure is applied for 10 minutes, (d) Water expulsion from the sample is observed upon pressure release, (e) Collected water is shown in the photograph.
Links
Journal
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Journal Name Journal of Materials Chemistry ATitle of paper Pressure-induced water producing using a copper–chromium Prussian blue analog