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AnonTechie and AndyTheAbsurd write with news published in Science Daily: New material steals oxygen from the air: One spoonful[sic] absorbs all the oxygen in a room.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say they’ve invented a crystal that pulls oxygen out of the air and even water. Apparently, just a spoonful of the stuff can suck up all the oxygen in a room.

The crystal is a salt made from cobalt, and it appears to be capable of holding oxygen at a concentration that is 160 times higher than the air we breathe. The paper notes that "an excess" of the substance would bind up to 99 percent of the oxygen in a room.

But what’s more remarkable is that the crystal can later release the oxygen by gently heating the material or subjecting it to low-oxygen conditions. In the press release, study author Christine McKenzie likens it to the hemoglobin in our blood, which uses iron to bind and release oxygen in the human body.

Could be useful for a variety of things from medical purposes to space exploration.

See also: http://www.popsci.com/article/science/weird-crystal-can-absorb-all-oxygen-room-and-then-release-it-later

http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Fakulteterne/Naturvidenskab/Nyheder/2014_09_30_iltsluger

The abstract is available at the journal Chemical Science.

[Editor's Note: The linked stories state a "spoonful" could absorb all of a room's oxygen; the original researcher's press release states it would take a bucket-full (10 liters).]