Membranes based on the “miracle material” graphene can be used to distil alcohol, according to a new study in Science journal.

Graphene is a form of carbon. It is a flat layer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb arrangement.

Because it is so thin, it is also practically transparent. As a conductor of electricity, it performs as well as copper; and as a conductor of heat, it outperforms all other known materials.

Miracle material, indeed! Who found out about it?

Andrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from the University of Manchester were awarded 2010’s Nobel Prize in physics for their discovery, outlined in a scientific paper in 2004.

Geim and others have now developed a laminate made from thin sheets of graphene oxide.

These films were hundreds of times thinner than a human hair but remained strong, flexible and easy to handle.

So how do they “distil booze”?

When a metal container was sealed with such a film, even the most sensitive equipment was unable to detect air or any other gas, including helium, leaking through.

But when the researchers tried the same with water, they found that it evaporated without noticing the graphene seal.
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Professor Geim added: “Helium gas is hard to stop. It slowly leaks even through a millimetre-thick window glass but our ultra-thin films completely block it. At the same time, water evaporates through them unimpeded. Materials cannot behave any stranger.”

Dr Nair said: “Just for a laugh, we sealed a bottle of vodka with our membranes and found that the distilled solution became stronger and stronger with time. Neither of us drinks vodka but it was great fun to do the experiment.”

_{Seriously though, graphene oxide films sound like an excellent method for water purification as well, something that’s definitely going to be necessary on a large scale (give or take a few years)}