Objective
Seeing is believing - but until now, flow at gas-liquid interfaces has remained invisible. While Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) has revolutionized the study of bulk flow, no equivalent technique exists for interfaces. Conventional tracer particles accumulate at the interface and disturb the flow, leaving hydrodynamics and mass transfer poorly understood. This is a critical gap, as the behaviour at interfaces heavily impacts mass transfer in chemical, bioprocess, and environmental systems. Surface-active molecules, i.e. surfactants, strongly change interfacial flow and hence mass transfer by factors of two to five.
This project will develop two complementary strategies enabling interfacial flow tracing.
For measurements in the field or in-line, particles are needed that are easy to detect. For that, I will design self-functionalizing Janus macrotracers: floating hollow glass spheres of sub-mm size that autonomously form hydrophobic caps during vapor-phase polymerization, precisely defining their interfacial anchoring. Their performance will be tested under alternating gravity in parabolic flights to identify buoyancy-neutral, minimally invasive designs. These tracers will then reveal whether interface-driven convection contributes to the extraordinary gas-exchange efficiency of the invasive aquatic plant Salvinia molesta, both in controlled experiments and in natural ponds.
For high-resolution studies, I will optimize fluorescent microtracers, stabilized by electrostatic repulsion to prevent agglomeration. They will allow to quantify interfacial flow and gas transfer at rising bubbles under controlled surfactant conditions, disentangling the coupled effects of Marangoni stresses and interfacial resistance. The resulting knowledge will not only close a long-standing gap in interfacial hydrodynamics and mass transfer. It also can be directly used to restrict the growth of Salvinia by biocompatible surfactants which most effectively reduce gas exchange.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2026-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
01328 Dresden
Germany
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