Project description DEENESFRITPL Smartened 2D materials for water desalination Energy harvesting or access to clean drinking water through water desalination requires solutions in the form of 2D materials for important industry applications. Just like graphene, these materials contain tiny capillaries and cavities that are ideal for desalination technology. The aim of the EU-funded project GraFludicDevices is to improve fundamental understanding of molecular transport in nanochannels made of different 2D materials. Researchers will develop 2D nanochannel devices to investigate water flow dynamics – permeation kinetics and selective separation of water molecules from ions – using custom-made flow measurement techniques. Results will shed further insight into the potential for 2D materials’ cost-effective application in water desalination and related technologies. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Exploration of molecular transport in nanometre (nm) and sub-nm capillaries has big implications in the emergence of novel nanofluidic phenomena with interesting applications, including desalination, water purification, energy harvesting and smart membrane technologies. Recent advances in graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials based membranes with interlayer gallery of nanochannels have witnessed high water-ion selectivity and fast water permeation—manifesting their potential for desalination and smart membrane applications. However, a systematic and extensive experimental investigation of water permeation kinetics, including the demonstration of slip effects, in these atomically smooth 2D nanochannels is still lacking. Therefore, the main objective of the current research proposal is to gain a complete mechanistic understanding of water transport in nanochannels made of different 2D materials, which is crucial for the rational design of functional membranes for energy and environmental applications. This will be achieved by employing the state-of-the-art fabrication and experimental techniques based on van der Waals assembly, Landau-Squire flow measurement set-up and ultrasonic force microscopy. In this project, atomically smooth angstrom-scale 2D nanochannel devices will be prepared to investigate the flow dynamics of water using a custom-made ultrasensitive flow measurement technique. Throughout the project, advanced modelling techniques will be utilized to fundamentally understand transport and further optimize the system. Building on these findings, a scale-up methodology will be developed for the large-scale production of membranes for desalination and energy harvesting applications. The proposed research action will address Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges related to water security and resource efficiency while advancing the field of nanofluidics and membrane technology through the development of new fabrication and flow measurement methods. Fields of science engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgrapheneengineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosisnatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopy Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2018 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2018 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Net EU contribution € 196 707,84 Address RUE MICHEL ANGE 3 75794 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 196 707,84
