NaCl crystal from salt solution with far below saturated concentration under ambient condition

TL;DR

This study reports the unexpected formation of NaCl crystals from highly dilute salt solutions within rGO membranes under ambient conditions, likely driven by cation-π interactions, revealing new insights into salt crystallization mechanisms.

Contribution

It demonstrates crystallization of NaCl from far below saturated solutions in rGO membranes, highlighting the role of cation-π interactions in ambient crystallization processes.

Findings

NaCl crystals form from highly dilute solutions in rGO membranes

Crystals exhibit stoichiometry behavior

Cation-π interactions likely facilitate crystallization

Abstract

Under ambient conditions, we directly observed NaCl crystals experimentally in the rGO membranes soaked in the salt solution with concentration below and far below the saturated concentration. Moreover, in most probability, the NaCl crystals show stoichiometries behavior. We attribute this unexpected crystallization to the cation-{\pi} interactions between the ions and the aromatic rings of the rGO.