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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Build Ultra-Dense Membranes That Can Bend 100,000 Times

Membranes are an important part of our daily life, even though we rarely see them. They help clean water, store energy, separate chemicals, and power devices like fuel cells and batteries. A membrane is like a smart filter—it allows some things to pass through while blocking others.

However, making a membrane that is strong, flexible, durable, and selective at the same time has always been very difficult. Scientists usually have to compromise: if a membrane is very strong, it may not bend well; if it is flexible, it may not last long or resist chemicals.

Now, a research team led by Zhuyuan Wang has developed a new and clever method to solve this problem. They used a concept called nanoconfinement, which controls chemical reactions inside extremely tiny spaces. This approach has opened the door to a new generation of high-performance polymer membranes.

Why Traditional Membrane Making Has Limits

Most polymer membranes are made using bulk-phase reactions. In simple words, this means all the chemicals are mixed together in a large container, and the polymer forms freely in open space.

This method is easy and widely used, but it has some serious problems:

  • Polymer chains grow in random directions

  • The internal structure is uneven

  • The material is less dense

  • Strength and selectivity are limited

Because scientists cannot fully control how polymer networks form, the final membrane often has weak spots and irregular pores. These small problems at the nanoscale lead to big performance issues at the macroscopic level.

A New Approach: Building Polymers in Tiny Channels

To solve this problem, the researchers changed one key idea: where the polymerization happens.

Instead of letting polymers form freely, they allowed polymerization to occur inside channels smaller than 2 nanometers (less than 2 billionths of a meter). These tiny channels act like nano-sized reaction rooms.

Inside these narrow spaces:

  • Polymer chains are forced to grow in an organized way

  • Chains align more closely with each other

  • The network becomes tightly packed

This is called nanoconfinement-controlled polymerization.

Much Higher Density Than Normal Polymers

One of the biggest achievements of this method is the creation of very dense polymer membranes.

The researchers made poly(epoxy) membranes with a density of:

  • 1.51 g/cm³ (with nanoconfinement)

  • 1.10 g/cm³ (without nanoconfinement)

This means the nanoconfined membrane is 37% denser than the normal one. In fact, this density is higher than most commonly used polymers.

Why is high density important?

  • More density means fewer empty spaces

  • Fewer defects inside the material

  • Stronger and more stable structure

  • Better control over what passes through the membrane

Strong Yet Flexible – A Rare Combination

Usually, dense and strong materials are stiff and break easily when bent. Surprisingly, these new membranes do not behave that way.

The nanoconfined membranes showed:

  • Very high tensile strength: 119.9 MPa

  • Excellent flexibility: survived 100,000 bending cycles

  • Strong resistance to solvents and chemicals

This is very important because many applications—such as flexible energy devices and industrial filtration—require materials that can bend repeatedly without breaking.

Why Nanoconfinement Makes Such a Big Difference

The secret lies in controlling space.

When polymerization happens inside extremely small channels:

  • Polymer chains cannot tangle randomly

  • Growth direction becomes controlled

  • Packing becomes tighter and more uniform

  • Weak points are reduced

In simple terms, the tiny space acts like a guide, forcing the material to form in the best possible way. This leads to better properties without changing the basic chemical composition.

Better Ion Transport for Energy Applications

The researchers also tested this method for ion-conducting membranes, which are crucial for energy technologies such as:

  • Fuel cells

  • Alkaline water electrolysis

  • Advanced batteries

They created positively charged poly(ammonium) membranes using nanoconfinement.

The results were impressive:

  • Higher OH⁻ (hydroxide ion) conductivity

  • Better selectivity against small neutral molecules

  • Much stronger than existing commercial membranes

This means ions can move quickly and efficiently, while unwanted molecules are blocked.

How Density Improves Selectivity

Ion transport works best when pathways are well-defined and stable.

The high-density membrane structure provides:

  • Narrow and uniform transport channels

  • Strong interaction between ions and charged groups

  • Reduced swelling in solvents

As a result, the membrane performs better for a longer time, even in harsh chemical environments.

Nanomaterials as Tiny Chemical Reactors

This research is not just about one new membrane. It introduces a new way of thinking.

Here, nanomaterials are used as active reactors, not just as passive materials. They control how polymer networks form by limiting space at the nanoscale.

This gives scientists new insights into:

  • How polymers behave in confined spaces

  • How structure affects material performance

  • How to design materials with precision

Possible Future Applications

This nanoconfinement strategy can be used in many fields:

  • Clean energy: better fuel cell membranes

  • Water purification: stronger and more selective filters

  • Chemical industry: solvent-resistant separation membranes

  • Flexible electronics: durable bendable materials

  • Protective coatings: long-lasting polymer layers

Because this method focuses on structure control, it can be adapted to many different polymers.

Conclusion: Small Spaces Create Big Improvements

This research clearly shows that tiny spaces can create big changes.

By allowing polymerization to happen inside ultra-small channels, scientists have created membranes that are stronger, denser, more flexible, and more selective than traditional materials. Properties that were once hard to combine now exist together in a single material.

In the future, nanoconfinement may become a key tool for designing advanced materials. By controlling space at the nanoscale, researchers can shape matter itself—opening new possibilities for technology, energy, and sustainability.

Reference: Wang, Z., Jia, C., Wang, Y. et al. Confined polymerization in nanochannels for synthesizing functional membranes. Nat. Synth (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-00991-z

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