Graphene sieve makes seawater drinkable

Share this withEmailFacebookMessengerMessengerTwitterPinterestWhatsAppLinkedInCopy this linkThese are external links and will open in a new windowA UK-based team of researchers has created a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater.The sought-after development could aid the millions of people without ready access to clean drinking water.The promising graphene oxide sieve could be highly efficient at filtering salts, and will now be tested against existing desalination membranes.It has previously been difficult to manufacture graphene-based barriers on an industrial scale.Reporting their results in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists from the University of Manchester, led by Dr Rahul Nair, show how they solved some of the challenges by using a chemical derivative called graphene oxide.Isolated and characterised by a University of Manchester-led team in 2004, graphene comprises a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice.