Research project Nanopolysaccharide coatings for functional surfaces in water-treatment materials
The project focuses on developing materials from renewable resources, and their evaluating their potential in developing functionalized surfaces for water-treatment.
Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the people worldwide and this number is expected to rise due to climate change. In addition, water sources are being constantly polluted with land-based sources. Reducing our environmental footprint can be accomplished by changing the way resources are produced and consumed.This leaves material chemists, among others in the scientific community, the great responsibility of substituting current petroleum-derived products for renewable options that performed as well as the ones available in the market.
Project description
The project focuses on developing water treatment membranes by improving the performance of available commercialized products which can reduce waste and energy consumption; while dealing with the substitution of the current petroleum-derived products to options from renewable sources. Surface functionalization is a straightforward option for improving the currently available membranes and fabrics in the market. Most specifically, coatings are a type of surface modification approach, which does not interfere with the bulk properties of the pristine materials and successfully functionalizes the surfaces without needing great amounts of the new material.
Materials in the nanometric scale, such as nanocellulose and chitin nanocrystals, have shown to be promising options for different types of surface functionalization, including antifouling, antimicrobial, contaminant adsorption, and mechanical enhancement, among others.
Project members
Project managers
Aji Mathew
Professor
