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Natural and man-made systems harbor a vast array of chemistry within their minuscule pores — referred to as nanopores — which varies according to the chemical functional groups contained within. A team of chemical engineers and materials scientists at the McKelvey School of Engineering, located at Washington University in St. Louis, have developed a technique to accurately regulate contaminants in nanopores, thereby improving desalination methods applied in water purification, carbon dioxide storage, and porous catalysts utilized in various manufacturing techniques.

Young-Shin Jun, a professor specializing in energy, environmental, and chemical engineering, alongside Srikanth Singamaneni, the Lilyan & E. Lisle Hughes Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, along with their respective research teams, have released findings that illuminate how chemical functional groups affect ion concentrations and pH levels within nanopores. Singamaneni’s laboratory engineered a plasmonic nanosensor that measures the concentrations of protons and ionic impurities in nanopores. This nanosensor provided insights into ion-nanopore interactions, enabling researchers to understand how specific contaminants can be selectively and precisely regulated.

The findings were made public online in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on April 29. For further information, visit the McKelvey Engineering website.

The article The mysterious chemical world inside nanopores first appeared on The Source.

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