Material with record-breaking surface area was made

Material with record-breaking surface area was made

A new material with world record-breaking surface area and other properties has been synthesized by researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, which was thought to be impossible. The magnesium carbonate material was formed in an unexpected way and the results have been published in PLOS ONE.

For the past 100 years, it has been claimed in the scientific literature that magnesium carbonate with disordered form is extremely hard to make.

"A Thursday afternoon in 2011, we slightly changed the synthesis parameters of the earlier employed unsuccessful attempts, and by mistake left the material in the reaction chamber over the weekend. Back at work on Monday morning we discovered that a rigid gel had formed and after drying this gel we started to get excited," says Johan Goméz de la Torre.

The magnesium carbonate material that has been given the name Upsalite is foreseen to reduce the amount of energy needed to control environmental moisture in the electronics and drug formulation industry as well as in hockey rinks and ware houses. It can also be used for collection of toxic waste, chemicals or oil spill and in drug delivery systems, for odor control and sanitation after fire.