RT-MAP will develop novel nano and micro sized hollow iron oxide particles that may be used to deliver reagents for environmental remediation and/or heterogeneous catalysis. Hollow magnetic particles (h-MPs) have aroused great interest recently due to their complex interior structures, good inherent magnetism, low density and the large fraction void space that is successfully used to encapsulate and control reagent release. RT-MAP will provide the community with a generic line of desired, tailored particles, not available today, and that are environmentally and economically friendly for such applications. To design these particles for controlled remediation reactivity, we will combine solid and surface chemistry and reactive transport experiments. This will be possible by combining complementary skills and leading expertise: magnetic particles preparation and characterization (The post-doctoral fellow), iron geochemistry and molecular chemistry (Supervisor), and porous media and microfluidics (supervisor and co-supervisors).
To achieve this ambitious objective, the two interrelated specific objectives are:
To develop scalable process for production of stable h-MPs with controlled morphology, size and architecture for diverse applications (WP1).
To determine the impact of coupled chemical and physical processes on the reactive properties of h-MPs in porous media using microfluidics (WP2).
Hollow particles, with controlled porosity, can be used as a chemical reactor where a given molecule can enter or release via narrow holes within the particle shell, hence reacting with the suspended molecules in the porous media. By optimizing the flow rate, it is possible to control the residence time or release time as well as the amount of chemical reaction along the path of the particles. Due to magnetic properties, these particles can also be transported (without imposing any flow) only with the use of the magnetic field whose strength can be varied. Although, magnetic particles tend to aggregate in porous structures, it can lead to a more efficient transfer of the chemicals. Therefore, these particles have technological advantage as compared to other delivery systems and have diverse applications in environmental restoration, agriculture sector, biomedicine and/or green catalysis.
