Hydrogen has three isotopes: protium, deuterium, and tritium. These isotopes play a crucial role in hydrogen fuel production, nuclear fusion, and the development of advanced pharmaceuticals.
However, it’s not easy to isolate these isotopes at room temperature. This is because they have almost similar sizes and shapes. Plus, each of them has one proton and one electron, leading to similar chemical and thermodynamic properties.
Therefore, the methods currently used for extracting hydrogen isotopes are resource-intensive as they require extreme conditions to work.
For instance, “It has been known for almost 15 years that porous metal-organic frameworks can, in principle, be used to purify and separate hydrogen isotopes,” Knut Asmis, a chemistry professor at Leipzig University, said.
“However, this has only been possible at very low temperatures, around minus 200 degrees Celsius—conditions that are very costly to implement on an industrial scale,” he added.
Asmis and his colleagues recently published a study that provides valuable insights into how hydrogen isotopes can be isolated at room temperature and at a low cost. Here’s what their research reveals:
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