It has been known for a long time that when salt is kept in a humid environment it will absorb water and make it clump. Water Vapor isn't the only agent that can do this.
Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, have shown that organic vapors can cause the dissolution of salts in a way similar to water.
It could be used to clean up pollutants in the indoor environment. Volatile organic compounds are organic chemicals that are odorless and tasteless. Some of the pollutants are harmful to human health and the environment. There are a number of methods that can be used to remove these compounds, but nothing has been done to investigate organic deliquescence.
According to the lead author of the study, organic vapor-induced deliquescence hasn't yet been reported. The phenomenon was investigated using several solid salts that underwent solid to liquid changes.
The process by which a solid becomes a liquid is called deliquescence. There are a number of chemicals that spontaneously create solutions in humid conditions. Increasing the environmental humidity can cause the solid to liquid change for some water-soluble chemicals. A water-absorbent substance called CaCl 2 has been used as a desiccant.
In a typical control experiment, we used CaCl 2 powder and it clearly changed to a solution made of water. The results of the control experiment were similar to what we observed in the presence of an organic Vapor.
When chloroform is used as an organic solvent, the salts change from solid to liquid.
The general rule "like dissolving like" can be used to design suitable organic deliquescence responses.
Industrial facilities that use large amounts of volatile organic compounds need to be removed from indoor environments. The results of the study offer a promising method for developing agents to capture volatile organic compounds.
More information: Organic deliquescence: organic vapor-induced dissolution of molecular salts, RSC Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1039/D2RA03390A
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