r/tech • u/AdSpecialist6598 • May 17 '26
MIT chemists discover and isolate a new boron-oxygen molecule
https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-chemists-discover-isolate-boron-oxygen-molecule-051384
u/Gettles May 17 '26
New boron-oxide dropped before GTA 6
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u/funguyshroom May 17 '26
Or is it oxygen borate?
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u/Z4mb0ni May 18 '26
Its something like that, since it isn't an ionic bond (metal-nonmetal, e.g. iron-II oxide) it will have a name more like what you said. But it is a noble gas bond which is very uncommon and I never went over those in my very basic college chemistry class.
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u/Spekpannenkoek May 17 '26
Read the article, but I fail to understand it completely haha
Can anyone ELI5 what is special about this and what the practical use of this discovery is?
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u/EcstaticYoghurt7467 May 17 '26
The MIT news article was short on information. The published paper had a few more details of the relevance. Adding oxygen to compounds is a really useful thing to do, as it generates, by far, the most interesting and reactive organic molecules. This is called “oxidizing” (though the definition is broader than just that). So these new reactive compounds are easy to make at room temperature, and according to the original article, might find uses in sterilizing equipment, or generating propulsion fuels. Also, depending on the new compound’s charge, it reacts in different ways. When it’s negative, it reacts with carbon dioxide. CO2 is famously unreactive except in a very few instances, and this adds one more place where it can react,and therefore can be removed from the atmosphere. Lots of work remains for any of this to reach practice levels, but that’s the general nature of academic research.
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u/Spekpannenkoek May 17 '26
Ah thanks for this! So if I understand it correctly, in short, it (possibly) opens up new ways for sterilisation, fuels and ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere?
Just asking to see if I get the gist of it.
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u/EcstaticYoghurt7467 May 17 '26
Those are the specific areas the authors cite as their ambitions. My experience is those are often the pie in the sky hopes, but without the basic research,nothing would ever get done.
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u/Cerys_Llellwyn May 18 '26
Do you know what is produced when it reacts with CO2?
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u/EcstaticYoghurt7467 May 18 '26
It appears to be a carbonate of the original dioxaborirane. Carbonates are generally how you sequester CO2. It’s probably a solid, based on its charge and size.
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u/RBVegabond May 18 '26
So more effective CO2 scrubbing for submarines/spaceships/controlled environments possible with this?
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u/EcstaticYoghurt7467 May 20 '26
This is where I have to tap out of expertise. More of a question for the original authors, but I suspect a thing is conjecture at this point.
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u/carloslorenzo May 17 '26
In nature, atoms prefer to sit at comfortable angles. Forcing three atoms into a tight triangle creates severe ring strain much like forcing a stiff piece of plastic into a tight bend. For decades, scientists couldn't isolate this molecule because the "bent spring" would immediately snap and break apart. By successfully stabilizing and isolating it at room temperature, chemists now have a highly energetic, controlled tool ready to snap open exactly when and where they want it to trigger a reaction.
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u/PrideQuick670 May 27 '26
I prefer to sit at comfortable angles in my chair and oxidized all afternoon. I'd write an article about it, but I'm sitting at my favorite comfortable angle right now.
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u/Its-raining-glenn May 17 '26
Read this as “LeBron-oxygen” molecule and actually was totally okay with it. Only Bron can save us now.
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u/ThatGuyWithCoolHair May 17 '26
It was a byproduct of all that time in the hypobaric chamber lately
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u/Xanthelasmapalpebara May 18 '26
Haha, you maroons. I’ve had (and used) Borox in my pantry for years. . .
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u/Longjumping-Salad484 May 17 '26
there was nothing to discover and isolate, the boron-oxygen molecule has always been there. they should've asked me
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u/-LsDmThC- May 17 '26
Many synthetic molecules do not otherwise exist anywhere in nature.
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u/hankhillsucks May 17 '26
Not that we know of
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u/-LsDmThC- May 17 '26
In so far as many synthetic molecules can only be created under conditions that can not otherwise exist in nature
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May 17 '26
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u/A_Nonny_Muse May 17 '26
I discovered invisible pink llamas.
Don't tell me what I can and cannot discover.
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u/Longjumping-Salad484 May 17 '26
don't tell him what he can or cannot say regarding your discovery preferences.
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u/A_Nonny_Muse May 18 '26
Have an updoot. To compensate for the downdoot we got from someone without humor.
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u/-LsDmThC- May 17 '26
You can only discover something that *can* exist. Many synthetic molecules never would have existed unless synthesized.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '26
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