Descrizione del progetto
Materiali 2D ottimizzati per la desalinizzazione dell’acqua
La raccolta di energia o l’accesso all’acqua potabile pulita attraverso la desalinizzazione dell’acqua richiede soluzioni sotto forma di materiali 2D per importanti applicazioni industriali. Come il grafene, questi materiali contengono piccoli capillari e cavità ideali per la tecnologia di desalinizzazione. L’obiettivo del progetto GraFludicDevices, finanziato dall’UE, è quello di migliorare la comprensione intrinseca del trasporto molecolare nei nanocanali costituiti da diversi materiali 2D. I ricercatori svilupperanno dispositivi 2D a nanocanale per studiare la dinamica del flusso d’acqua, ovvero la cinetica di permeazione e separazione selettiva delle molecole d’acqua dagli ioni, utilizzando tecniche di misurazione del flusso su misura. I risultati forniranno ulteriori informazioni sul potenziale dell’applicazione economica dei materiali 2D nella dissalazione dell’acqua e delle tecnologie correlate.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
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Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinatore
75794 Paris
Francia