TPN · Transport Phenomena at the Nanoscale
7РП — „Хора“ (Действия „Мария Кюри“)
- Период
- 2008-09-01 → 2012-08-31
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 100 000 €
- Участници
- 1
- Схема
- MC-IRG
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.
Накратко на български
Потокът на течности в наноканали, като например в алуминиеви мембрани, се анализира, за да се разбере как се ускорява движението им в толкова тесни пространства. Това помага за създаването на по-издръжливи керамични филтри за пречистване на водата.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Transport Phenomena at the Nanoscale
The objectives of the IRG grant included studying if and how nanometre scale confinement affected the flow of liquids inside nanochannels. From our preliminary study in this area, a review on liquid imbibition in nanochannels was published. Thanks to the IRG funds we have been able to perform water flow measurements in nanoporous alumina membranes (Figure 1). We have shown, for the first time, that liquid flow enhancement can be achieved also in hydrophilic nanochannels (Figure 2(left)). Following on these results I have been awarded a grant from the Royal Society to establish a collaboration with a mathematician in Italy to develop a theoretical model to explain this unexpected phenomenon. The model we have developed not only can explain the flow enhancement in alumina nanochannels but was capable of capturing experimental and molecular dynamics results of water flow in carbon nanotubes (Figure 2(right)). The cumulative outcome of this research has significant potential to change the design of ceramic membranes used for the filtration of liquids. While polymeric membranes currently dominate the market for water filtration in general and desalination in particular, ceramic membranes could one day replace them due to higher mechanical and chemical resistance. Before this can happen, though, their transport properties (permeability and salt rejection) have to be significantly improved. Our results show that it is possible to fabricate nanoporous alumina membranes with narrow pore size distribution in the ultrafiltration range with superior transport properties due to flow enhancement effects. In addition, these membranes are hydrophilic, with very low contact angle, a property that can be used to obtain low fouling membranes. We are now exploring further development of these membranes for potential commercial exploitation. Results from the IRG-funded work and further development can be found online at the following address: www.bath.ac.uk/nanotech.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
Mass transport through nanoscale pores (i.e. pores in the nanometre size range) has been studied for many years in disciplines as diverse as membrane science, soil permeability and cell physiology. However, in all these fields, though, the emphasis has always been placed on the macroscopic outcome, while the effects on fluid behaviour of intermolecular forces or physical and chemical interactions between the liquid and the solid surface have often been neglected. The primary objective of the proposed research is to understand quantitatively the behaviour of liquids flowing in nanoscale pores. In particular, a focus will be placed on the nature of interactions between liquids and the pore structures. This can be achieved by systematically studying the effect of pore size, shape, surface chemistry and structure on fundamental nanoscale transport phenomena including wall slip, liquid velocity, surface tension and contact angle of liquids. In order to achieve this objective, I propose the development of an innovative fluidic chip that combines nanochannel manufacturing with traditional microfabrication techniques. This capitalizes on my previous experience in the field of nanoporous alumina synthesis and liquid flow through carbon nanotubes. A detailed description of the nanofluidic chip design is provided in the proposal along with details about the fundamental fluid physics phenomena that will be investigated Although the proposed research focuses on the fundamental understanding of liquid behaviour at the nanoscale, the development of the proposed nanofluidic device will have applications beyond the scope and duration of the work proposed here: Understanding the interactions occurring between liquids and the pore walls they flow through represents a key to optimizing the performance of many systems such as water filtration and desalination processes, separation of liquids, and energy storage systems such as supercapacitors.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- UNIVERSITY OF BATH · BATHКоординаторОбединеното кралство
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз