Slides from Dr. Heather Shipley's presentation at TPR's Think Science event on Friday, November 16, 2018.

1. Environmental Nanotechnology:
Nanocomposites for the Removal of
Pollutants from Water
Heather Shipley, Ph.D.
Burzik Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering

2. Water Challenges
• Meeting Basic Needs
– Supply
– Accessibility
• Cost of Water
– Distribution
– Treatment
• Water Quality
– Contaminants
• Natural
• Anthropogenic

3. Metal Contamination
• Relatively high density
• Toxic at low
concentrations due to
bioaccumulation
• Sources
– Vehicles – Cu, Pb, Zn
– Commercial Fertilizer –
Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni
– Mine Drainage- Pb, Cu,
Ni, Zn, etc
– E-waste- Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni,
Zn, others

4. Arsenic  Arsenite - As(III)
 Arsenate – As(V)

5. Scale of Nanoparticles

6. Nanomaterials
• Enhanced chemical and
physical properties
– Increased specific surface
area
– Increased optical
properties
• Focus on understanding
and creating systems,
devices, and materials
for real-world applications

7. Where Nanomaterials Can Make a
Difference
Membranes
E.g. water treatment
Adsorbents
E.g contaminant removal
Oxidants
E.g Disinfection
Catalysts
E.g. Industrial Application
Sensing
E.g. Water Quality
Analytical
E.g. Increasing Detection Limits

8. Goal
• To use nano-enabled
technology to fulfill the
need for a cost-
effective, efficient
remediation solutions
for removing pollutants
from the environment
such that the treatment
is environmentally
responsible in its reuse
and regeneration.

9. Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
• Hematite, Fe2O3 • Titanium Dioxide,
TiO2

10. Adsorption Studies, TiO2
M2+
M2+
M2+
M2+
M2+
M2+
M2+
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
%M2+adsorbed
time (h)
Pb Zn Ni Cd Cu
Engates et. al (2011) Environmental Science and Pollution Research 18, 386
Wagle et. al (2016) Environmental Engineering and Science, 33. 299-305

11. Regeneration
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Adsorption Desorption Adsorption Desorption Adsorption Desorption
Pb Cu Zn
Percentadsorbed/desorbed
1 2 3 4 5

12. Metal based Photocatalyst

13. What we want to study
 Achieve fast and ecofriendly synthesis of with different
sizes and morphologies using pulse laser ablation (PLAL)
 Examine the physicochemical properties of PLAL
synthesized nanostructures using spectroscopic techniques
 Evaluate the impact of environmental conditions on the
physicochemical interactions of pollutants with the
nanocomposites

14. Metal based Nanocomposite

15. Metal Based Nanocomposite

16. Oxidation of As(III) to As(V)

17. Future of Nanotechnology for
Environmental Applications
• Sustainable nanomaterials
• Composite nanomaterials
• Sensors applications

18. Acknowlegements
• Students involved: Drs. Karen Engates,
Jinxuan Hu, Dipendra Wagle and Ali Balati,
Jessica George, Allison Guenter, and Valerie
Grover
• This research was supported by NSF grants
EEC-0823685, HRD-0932339, and CBET
1650278. The Air Force Office of Scientific
Research FA9550-15-1-0109
• Burzik Professorship in Engineering Design

19. Thank You