Using nanotechnology to understand nature's secrets and improve sustainability in environment and energy

Talk by prof. Susan Stipp, Leader of the NanoGeoScience Group at the Department of Chemistry

Many of the reactions that control the composition of fluids in nature take place at the interface of solid particles. This is as true of rain-drops that nucleate on dust particles as it is of groundwater percolating through a waste dump. The same physical and chemical processes that control removal of pesticides from drinking water in a water treatment plant also control the release of oil from a reservoir and the growth of biominerals such as bones, teeth and oyster shells and the conversion of CO2 from air into carbonate rocks. Techniques that can "see" at the nano-scale are offering us a new look at the physical and chemical processes that control our environment. My plan is to explain how some of these techniques work and to show you some examples of their application from the research of the NanoGeoScience group.