A collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Energy Department's Argonne National Laboratory is working to develop a machine-learning method for metal-organic frameworks that can collect water from air and advance sustainable technology.
Scientists from Argonne and the university have employed a blend of experimental techniques, theory and artificial intelligence to optimize catalysts for metal-organic frameworks, which possess high porosity, acting as sponges with strong adsorption capabilities, which makes them useful for collecting water from the atmosphere, housing gas or enhancing chemical reactions, according to a release from Argonne.
“This is really to show best practices for high-throughput experimentation research,” UC graduate student Daniel King said in the release. “It’s important to use machine learning algorithms to guide these experiments, but they aren’t automatic. They still need human input to be successful.”
The researchers used machine-learning algorithms with high-throughput experimentation to test various metals, temperatures and pressures applied to the metal-organic framework NU-1000 for catalytic activity, the release reported. After 2,000 reactions, the team used the process to increase the yield of the chemical reactions from 0.4% to 24.4%, which researchers say has the potential to tackle environmental challenges such as water scarcity and climate change, by facilitating the creation of new materials aimed at gathering water from the air or powering new energy sources.
King's work at Argonne was possible due to funding which allowed him to collaborate with the scientists and engineers, which was a major component of the project, according to the release.
“It was a direct collaboration between theory and experiment,” King said in the release. “Often theorists are called upon to explain results, but in this case, I had an active role in designing the how the experiment would go.”
The researchers were members of the Catalyst Design for Decarbonization Center, which is funded by the Department of Energy as part of its Energy Frontier Research Center program. The program's goal is to discover catalysts for the decarbonization energy transition to optimize catalytic reactions, the release stated.
“Increasing the efficiency of catalysts is critical for developing sustainable solutions and promoting decarbonization,” King added, according to the release. “Understanding how to find the best catalysts for reactions is an important step in that direction.”
