MIND BLOWERS

A Membrane That Sucks Impurities FromWater

“We just realized there was a huge opportunity in this space to try and do this in a sustainable manner.”

RODNEY PRIESTLEY, XIAOHUI XU PROFESSOR, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

MORE THAN 800 MILLION people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. Over half the U.S. population drinks from water with detectable lead levels, studies suggest. And even as the pandemic reminded us of the importance of frequent handwashing with soap and water, three in 10 people around the globe can’t do that in their own homes. The World Health Organization and UNICEF warn that these numbers are likely to get worse in the next decade unless societies create and improve water infrastructure—a vast and expensive proposition.

A new tool for meeting this challenge has emerged from the laboratory of Princeton University chemical engineers Rodney Priestley and Xiaohui Xu. They have created a material that removes impurities in drinking water, requires no additional energy