Filtering and de-salinating water
The sieve can filter out salts from seawater, producing drinkable water. In 2012 a team of researchers led by Andre Geim of the University of Manchester who was first to isolate graphene in 2004 found that graphene-oxide membranes were impermeable to all gases and vapours except for water. Challenges include producing atomically precise holes in a one-atom thick sheet of carbon atoms (graphene). In 2020, Vanderbilt engineers are refining the method of installing the holes.