Greenhouse gasses are a problem. They’re warming our planet and causing a climate catastrophe the likes of which mankind has never dealt with. Enter a new synthetic molecule that was created in a lab, which its developers say is the first of its kind as it can literally trap greenhouse gasses within it.
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00:00Greenhouse gases are a problem.
00:06They're warming our planet and causing a climate catastrophe the likes of which humankind has
00:10never dealt with.
00:11Enter a new synthetic molecule that was created in a lab, which its developers say is the
00:15first of its kind as it can literally trap greenhouse gases within it.
00:19They're calling it a quote, cage of cages, as it's a porous material built via chemical
00:24reactions that assembles first a triangular prism building block, which is then assembled
00:29in tetrahedral cages.
00:30And because the resulting molecules have polar charges, they attract and then retain CO2
00:35and other gases with a high efficacy.
00:37It also traps sulfur hexafluoride, which according to a leading climate group is the most potent
00:42greenhouse gas.
00:43And while not tested at scale yet, this new molecule is a promising avenue for slowing
00:47climate change.
00:48As experts say, we need to yank 20 billion tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
00:53That's what's needed every year.
00:54And it could go up as carbon emissions are increasing as well.
00:57This new molecule was developed using what's called supramolecular self-assembly, and it
01:01produces a final particle that is chemically interlocked and stable.
01:05The researchers say this new molecule could eventually be used in capturing emissions
01:09from wet or humid gas streams at industrial sites.