Future perspectives on environmental nanotechnology
David Owen
ECG Committee Member david.owen@treatchem.org.uk |
Rowena Fletcher-Wood
Science Oxford rowena.fletcherwood@gmail.com |
ECG Bulletin February 2019
This one day meeting, jointly organised by the journal
Environmental Science: Nano, was held at Burlington House, London, on
Monday 8th October, and attracted more than fifty delegates from
academia and industry
The morning session, introduced by Simon Neil, Executive Editor of Environmental Science: Nano, began with a talk by Professor Peter Vikesland, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and chair of the journal’s editorial board. He spoke on the application of nanotechnology to better understand the mechanisms behind chemistry in microenvironments, including, but not restricted to, single cells and biofilms. One case study involved the development of nanoprobes to measure pH anisotropy across single, isolated aerosol droplets. This was performed through the implantation of coated gold nanoparticles into an aerosol droplet, followed by the use of highly focussed spectrometry to track the degree of the particle’s ionisation. Bifunctional materials such as 4-aminophenol were used for the film coating.
This was followed by a talk on the development and assembly of multifunctional graphene oxide for advanced filtration and photolytic water treatment by Professor John Fortner, Washington University in St. Louis. His work explored the controlled treatment of graphene oxide to form a three dimensional nanomaterial , the morphological equivalent of a balled up sheet of paper. This pseudo-particulate material can be attached to a supporting filtration substrate film to produce a monolayer. Subjected to various foulants, including biological species like E. coli, crumpled graphene oxide (CGO) matrices outperformed various commercial ultrafiltration membranes and demonstrated enhanced resilience under chemical cleaning conditions. Following the encapsulation of TiO2 nanoparticles, CGO performed the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. Magnetic iron, silver and gold nanoparticles have also been encapsulated. |
Other talks included that by Dr Xianjin Cui, University of Birmingham, who showcased the Facility of Environmental Analytics and Characterisation services available at Birmingham for the characterisation of small terrestrial and freshwater samples including environmental nanoparticles. Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood then introduced the science education company Things We Don’t Know, an online science magazine that focuses on explaining the questions to which science still seeks answers, supporting research crowd funding, cataloguing ongoing research questions, and providing real time science news updates from researchers.
Dr Gregory Lowry, from Carnegie Mellon University, opened the afternoon session, speaking on the application of nanotechnology in agriculture. His work focuses on delivering nanoparticles into plants to perform vital functions such as improved nutrient absorption, fungal resistance and photosynthesis under salt stress whilst avoiding the complications of overspray and excess runoff. His research demonstrated the introduction of modified biomolecular nanoparticles into stomata, and subsequent transport of these materials throughout the internal plant structure. Further work explored optimal delivery methods, and patents on these methods are currently being filed.
Deriving nanoparticulate alumina via the controlled hydrolysis of aluminium nitrate, Dr Wei-Guo Song, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discussed the application of this material for environmental arsenic sorption, and proposed a mechanism for its action: a surface cation exchange reaction, whereby arsenic permanently adheres to external hydroxyl groups. Ongoing research is investigating the action of other metal-based nanomaterials, including Fe, Ce, FeOOH, Al2O3 and MgSiO3, and the removal of other contaminants including Pb and U.
Dr Heather Au, Queen Mary University of London, described her work on the hydrothermal carbonisation of sugars at sub-generated pressure to form new building blocks for organic reactions, including fuel materials. Her work includes the study of carbon dots and cross-linked hard and soft carbon. Dr Au’s talk focussed on her research into a sodium equivalent to the lithium ion battery. The basis of this is that sodium salts exist in greater quantities in nature and if the technical issues of electrical capacity can be optimised (the theoretical capacity is 300 milliamps, but this number is not well justified), a more eco-friendly battery could be produced. Much of the research was directed at optimising the carbon used for intercalating sodium ions in a nanoporous network, and exploring the underlying mechanism for this storage. Research challenges highlight that the ability to get the correct carbon quality greatly affect the degree of efficiency of charge that can be stored and delivered as a working battery.
Dr Jerome Rose, European Centre for Research and Teaching, presented his research into the life cycle analysis of nanomaterials syntheses– an international project that modified nanomaterial design strategy to produce safer, more environmentally friendly technology. His work revises existing risk assessment protocols to prevent release of rogue materials.
The symposium was closed by Professor Joel Pedersen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose research focuses on coating inorganic nanoparticles with organic materials to facilitate their insertion into lipid bilayers. He demonstrated that a complex sequence of reactions are required to explain the mechanism behind insertion, and that future efforts aim to unweave these underlying mechanisms to harness this technology for applications in drug delivery.
The audience rated the event an 8.6/10 for the quality of the speakers and scientific content, and 39% said it surpassed their expectations.
Dr Gregory Lowry, from Carnegie Mellon University, opened the afternoon session, speaking on the application of nanotechnology in agriculture. His work focuses on delivering nanoparticles into plants to perform vital functions such as improved nutrient absorption, fungal resistance and photosynthesis under salt stress whilst avoiding the complications of overspray and excess runoff. His research demonstrated the introduction of modified biomolecular nanoparticles into stomata, and subsequent transport of these materials throughout the internal plant structure. Further work explored optimal delivery methods, and patents on these methods are currently being filed.
Deriving nanoparticulate alumina via the controlled hydrolysis of aluminium nitrate, Dr Wei-Guo Song, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discussed the application of this material for environmental arsenic sorption, and proposed a mechanism for its action: a surface cation exchange reaction, whereby arsenic permanently adheres to external hydroxyl groups. Ongoing research is investigating the action of other metal-based nanomaterials, including Fe, Ce, FeOOH, Al2O3 and MgSiO3, and the removal of other contaminants including Pb and U.
Dr Heather Au, Queen Mary University of London, described her work on the hydrothermal carbonisation of sugars at sub-generated pressure to form new building blocks for organic reactions, including fuel materials. Her work includes the study of carbon dots and cross-linked hard and soft carbon. Dr Au’s talk focussed on her research into a sodium equivalent to the lithium ion battery. The basis of this is that sodium salts exist in greater quantities in nature and if the technical issues of electrical capacity can be optimised (the theoretical capacity is 300 milliamps, but this number is not well justified), a more eco-friendly battery could be produced. Much of the research was directed at optimising the carbon used for intercalating sodium ions in a nanoporous network, and exploring the underlying mechanism for this storage. Research challenges highlight that the ability to get the correct carbon quality greatly affect the degree of efficiency of charge that can be stored and delivered as a working battery.
Dr Jerome Rose, European Centre for Research and Teaching, presented his research into the life cycle analysis of nanomaterials syntheses– an international project that modified nanomaterial design strategy to produce safer, more environmentally friendly technology. His work revises existing risk assessment protocols to prevent release of rogue materials.
The symposium was closed by Professor Joel Pedersen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose research focuses on coating inorganic nanoparticles with organic materials to facilitate their insertion into lipid bilayers. He demonstrated that a complex sequence of reactions are required to explain the mechanism behind insertion, and that future efforts aim to unweave these underlying mechanisms to harness this technology for applications in drug delivery.
The audience rated the event an 8.6/10 for the quality of the speakers and scientific content, and 39% said it surpassed their expectations.