Researchers at MIT have made a special kind of molecule called dioxaborirane, which has a lot of oxygen and is made of boron and oxygen. It’s a peroxide-like molecule, and it’s the first time anyone’s ever made it. Before, people thought it was impossible to make. Surprisingly, the stable three-membered ring compound formed right away at room temperature, no extreme pressure or cooling needed. It’s got a lot of internal energy, so it’s like a “compressed spring.” It has two uses: in pharmaceuticals (for safe oxidation during drug synthesis) and in environmental science (for energy-efficient capture and processing of $CO_2$ from the atmosphere).
According to the Hungarian publication HVG, researchers from MIT were the first in the world to create a unique molecule with a high oxygen content. The creation of this molecule was previously considered practically impossible.
According to the pros, this breakthrough is a game-changer for eco-friendly production and will seriously boost technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The Interesting Engineering website says that the compound belongs to a rare family of boron-containing peroxide-like molecules, and the scientists have named it dioxaborirane.
The best part? The reaction is pretty simple. Usually, unstable molecules like this need extreme cold or intense pressure; otherwise, they disintegrate right away. But American chemists have figured out a way around this. They’ve created a molecule that forms on its own and almost instantly at normal room temperature.
It’s shaped like a tiny ring and stores a lot of chemical energy, which is why scientists compare it to a compressed spring.
During the testing, dioxaborirane showed two behavioral patterns:
Pharmaceuticals: it’s pretty good at sharing oxygen with other molecules. This’ll let chemists make medicines and other products using much simpler and safer reactions.
The environment is important here: the molecule can react with carbon dioxide. This will let us create new systems that capture harmful emissions from the atmosphere and convert them into useful substances. This will use way less energy than it does now.
The developers are realistic about the scope of the discovery and emphasize that the new compound alone won’t solve the climate crisis. At the same time, it’ll be used to create new energy-efficient systems.