Photo Courtesy of Science Daily- Licensed Under Creative Commons

Scientists at Northwestern University recently developed a synthetic material known as the “Venus Flytrap.” Composed of  “layers of gallium, sulfur, and anitomy compound,” this innovative matter captures nuclear waste much like the way a fly is baited. The radioactive ion cesium that is found in nuclear waste is extremely difficult to clean up due to the dispoportion of innocuous sodium ions and harmful cesium ions. Data research documents the ratio of sodium to cesium is about 1,000-to-1. In addition, cesium is extremely toxic, and has proven to cause cancer in people “up to 30 years after the time it enters the body.”

This new advancement has been successful in abstracting the cesium, opening its vesicles and entrapping its prey. According to Science Daily,

It is, in fact, cesium itself that triggers a structural change in the material, causing it to snap shut its pores, or windows, and trap the cesium ions within. The material sequesters 100 percent of the cesium ions from the solution while at the same time ignoring all the sodium ions.

Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the paper’s senior author of the journal Nature Chemistry discuss how important this development is- “A new class of materials that takes advantage of the flytrap mechanism could lead to a much-needed breakthrough in nuclear waste remediation.” As reported in SD, interestingly enough, Kanatzidis and Nan Ding did not foresee the flytrap’s success. Initially, they “were investigating different structures of the material, wondering if they could act as ion exchangers.” Unexpectedely, an interaction between the Venus flytrap and the cesium occurred, causing the flytrap to morph, enclosing the cesium. Although the major component in the Venus Flytrap is highly expensive, the team of researchers are looking into a “cheaper alternative.”

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via Sarah Wolfson, 5 February 2010 2:53pm | |