Objective
Surface nanobubbles are gaseous bubbles on liquid-immersed substrates. They are typically 10nm high and 100nm across and, according to classical physics, should dissolve in microseconds but are found to persist for days. Nanobubbles are thought to be responsible for slip in micro and nanofluidic devices, as well as bearing relevance to several macroscopic fluid-solid interactions, including boiling and colloidal destabilisation. Nanobubbles are a very new research area and are ripe for investigation. The following questions will be answered during this fellowship: Is there an 'ideal recipe' for nanobubble creation? Can the size difference between 'known' micro- and 'unknown' nanobubbles be bridged? What is the mechanism that sustains nanobubbles? How does the presence of nanobubbles affect slip? These questions will be answered using a mixture of several techniques: Electrolysis for nanobubble creation; atomic force microscopy for manipulation and visualisation; and ultra-high-speed video imaging for visualising larger bubbles and bubble arrays. The Host institute is currently joint-leading the field in nanobubble research with institutions in China and Australia. This proposal will set Europe apart from the rest of the world as the number one research centre of excellence in nanobubble research.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)Coordinator
7522 NB Enschede
Netherlands