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Related Concept Videos

Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions02:40

Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions

A number of natural and synthetic materials exhibit selective permeation, meaning that only molecules or ions of a certain size, shape, polarity, charge, and so forth, are capable of passing through (permeating) the material. Biological cell membranes provide elegant examples of selective permeation in nature, while dialysis tubing used to remove metabolic wastes from blood is a more simplistic technological example. Regardless of how they may be fabricated, these materials are generally...
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Approximately 60% to 95% of the weight of living organisms is attributed to water. Therefore, maintaining appropriate water balance within cells is of paramount importance. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane, such as a cell’s plasma membrane. In living organisms, water plays a crucial role as a solvent—a molecule that dissolves other molecules.
Osmosis01:30

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Osmosis is the movement of free water molecules through a semipermeable membrane.  The water's concentration gradient across the membrane is inversely proportional to the solutes' concentration. Whereas diffusion transports material across membranes and within cells, osmosis transports only water across a membrane, and the membrane limits the diffusion of solutes in the water. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
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Solid–Solid Solutions

The temperature-composition phase diagram of two solids, A and B, which are immiscible in the solid phase but form miscible liquids, shows that when the temperature is low, these two exist as separate, pure solids (A and B). As the temperature increases, they transition into a single-phase liquid solution where A and B coexist. Moving from point a1 to a2 in the phase diagram, the composition changes such that solid B begins to separate from the solution, enriching the remaining liquid with A.
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation01:24

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When a non-volatile solute is added to a pure solvent, it results in the lowering of the freezing point of the solvent. This phenomenon is called freezing point depression. The extent to which the freezing point is lowered depends on the molality of the solute -the number of moles of solute per kilogram of solvent and the cryoscopic constant of the solvent.From the plot of chemical potential, μ, against temperature, it is evident that the μ of both solid and liquid solvents decrease with...
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation03:12

Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation

Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...

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LabVIEW-operated Novel Nanoliter Osmometer for Ice Binding Protein Investigations
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Novel lower critical solution temperature phase transition materials effectively control osmosis by mild temperature

Minwoo Noh1, Yeongbong Mok, Seonju Lee

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-747, Republic of Korea.

Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
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Summary

Novel thermosensitive solutes enable controllable osmosis using mild temperature shifts. This temperature-triggered process allows for effective freshwater extraction from seawater and reversible osmotic flow control.

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Area of Science:

  • Membrane science and technology
  • Materials science
  • Chemical engineering

Background:

  • Osmosis is a crucial process in water desalination and separation technologies.
  • Current methods often require significant energy input or harsh chemical conditions.
  • Developing stimuli-responsive materials for controlled osmosis is an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the use of novel thermosensitive solutes for reversible osmosis control.
  • To demonstrate the feasibility of temperature-induced freshwater extraction from seawater.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of solutes with a Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) transition.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis and characterization of novel thermosensitive solutes, specifically n-butyl triethylammonium acetate (nBu-TAEA).
  • Experimental setup to measure osmotic flow across a membrane using the thermosensitive solution and seawater.
  • Systematic variation of temperature to observe changes in osmotic behavior and phase separation.

Main Results:

  • The nBu-TAEA thermosensitive solution effectively drew freshwater from seawater below its phase separation temperature.
  • Osmotic flow was successfully reversed by increasing the temperature above the LCST transition point.
  • Mild temperature changes (below the phase separation temperature) provided reversible and effective control over osmosis.

Conclusions:

  • Thermosensitive solutes with LCST transitions offer a promising approach for controllable and energy-efficient osmosis.
  • This technology enables reversible freshwater production from saline sources using simple temperature modulation.
  • The findings present a novel strategy for advanced separation and desalination processes.