Osmosis is the thermodynamically driven net movement of a solvent, typically water, across a selectively permeable membrane from a region of lower solute activity to higher solute activity, aiming to equalize the chemical potential of the solvent on both sides. It is governed by osmotic pressure, which can be described for ideal dilute solutions by the van ’t Hoff equation (π = iCRT), and is fundamentally a colligative phenomenon dependent on solute particle concentration rather than identity. Osmosis underlies many biophysical processes, including cell volume regulation, turgor generation in plants, and membrane transport in physiology and biotechnology.
Osmotic energy, often called blue energy, is a promising way to generate sustainable electricity from the natural mixing of salt and fresh water. It exploits the voltage that arises when ions from saltwater pass through an ...
Nanophysics
Feb 16, 2026
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Common ancestor eels lost the aquaporin gene encoding proteins with broad solute permeability. Researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo have now found that recent gene duplication events in the European eel (Anguilla ...
Evolution
Nov 11, 2025
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13
Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are harmful chemicals that form when disinfectants react with natural organic matter and other precursors during water treatment and distribution. Over the past 50 years, more than 6,300 DBPs ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 28, 2025
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41
Nanoporous membranes with atomic-scale holes smaller than one-billionth of a meter have powerful potential for decontaminating polluted water, pulling valuable metal ions from the water, or for osmotic power generators.
Nanomaterials
Oct 2, 2024
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89
A multinational team of researchers have developed a process that builds on the success of current reverse osmosis processes that remove salt from seawater. Researchers led by Professor Heqing Jiang, of the Qingdao Institute ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 22, 2022
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106
Forward osmosis (FO), an emerging membrane-based technology, offers low energy consumption and low membrane fouling potential, but the lack of high-performance FO membranes hinders the large-scale application of FO. Generally, ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 12, 2022
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