Friday November 21st at 2 pm, ESPCI, amphi Holweck, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris
Resource recovery and treatment of water using porous composite materials, Dr Romy Ettlinger; Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching b. München, Germany
Abstract
In an era of crisis, overpopulation and industrial-related release of hazardous waste into our waterbodies, innovative technologies are much-needed. Covering almost 71% of the surface of our ‘blue planet’, water is the most important resource for all living beings – nonetheless only 0.5% of it is freshwater and can be used as drinking water.[1,2] Today, the growing threat of water scarcity due to pollution is increasingly problematic. To ensure access to clean water, among other things, the United Nations has set the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,[3] and porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in particular, may play a crucial role in achieving these goals and revolutionize the current water treatment. Self-assembling into diverse 3D frameworks of metal ions/oxoclusters and organic linkers with unprecedented ultra-high porosity (≥ 90% is free volume) and remarkable internal surface areas (≥ 7800 m2/g), MOFs represent an ideal material platform for various applications.[4] Their rich reticular chemistry allows for structurally precise fine-tuning of their adsorption properties for high selectivity to specific molecules and substances – thereby simultaneously recovering resources and purifying water. To promote the transformation of these research ideas into real-world applications, our work focuses on i) screening different MOFs in terms of their physico-chemical properties; ii) investigating their suitability to selectively enrich specific impurities and raw materials from different water sources; iii) processing MOF powders into efficient MOF composites and iv) researching the efficiency of these innovative filtration system. Exploiting the good chemical and mechanical stability of the materials, their re-use, re-generation, or re-cycling will ultimately multiply their value. Establishing such MOFcomposites for water treatment could be a solution to combat the shortage of clean water.
In an era of crisis, overpopulation and industrial-related release of hazardous waste into our waterbodies, innovative technologies are much-needed. Covering almost 71% of the surface of our ‘blue planet’, water is the most important resource for all living beings – nonetheless only 0.5% of it is freshwater and can be used as drinking water.[1,2] Today, the growing threat of water scarcity due to pollution is increasingly problematic. To ensure access to clean water, among other things, the United Nations has set the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,[3] and porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in particular, may play a crucial role in achieving these goals and revolutionize the current water treatment. Self-assembling into diverse 3D frameworks of metal ions/oxoclusters and organic linkers with unprecedented ultra-high porosity (≥ 90% is free volume) and remarkable internal surface areas (≥ 7800 m2/g), MOFs represent an ideal material platform for various applications.[4] Their rich reticular chemistry allows for structurally precise fine-tuning of their adsorption properties for high selectivity to specific molecules and substances – thereby simultaneously recovering resources and purifying water. To promote the transformation of these research ideas into real-world applications, our work focuses on i) screening different MOFs in terms of their physico-chemical properties; ii) investigating their suitability to selectively enrich specific impurities and raw materials from different water sources; iii) processing MOF powders into efficient MOF composites and iv) researching the efficiency of these innovative filtration system. Exploiting the good chemical and mechanical stability of the materials, their re-use, re-generation, or re-cycling will ultimately multiply their value. Establishing such MOFcomposites for water treatment could be a solution to combat the shortage of clean water.
Short-bio
Dr. Romy Ettlinger is a Junior group leader (Liebig Fellowship) at the Technical University of Munich in Germany investigating resource recovery and the remediation of water using porous composites (https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/tum-junior-fellows/ettlinger-romy). She obtained her PhD in 2020 at the University of Augsburg in Germany establishing metal–organic framework (MOF) materials for medicinal applications. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of St Andrews (United Kingdom) focussing on the development of various porous hybrid framework materials and composites as well as their functionalisation for medical and environmental applications. She is dedicated to uniting like-minded researchers across Europe (and beyond) through the COST Action CA22147 EU4MOFs (https://eu4mofs.com/), and supporting young researches to let their passion for science grow. Further her aim is to empower girls and young women to immerse themselves in the natural sciences through outreach programs and the female researcher equality (FREQ https://www.vci.de/fonds/der-fonds/netzwerke/netzwerke/freq/freq.jsp) network of the Fond der Chemischen Industrie.
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