| KEYWORD |
Silica Aerogels for Atmospheric Water Harvesting
Thesis abroad
keywords AEROGEL, POROUS SILICA, SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS PROCESSES, WATER ADSORPTION
Reference persons BARBARA ONIDA, SILVIA MARIA RONCHETTI
External reference persons Prof. Houssam Rassy
Research Groups Department of Chemistry , American University of Beirut, SMAC
Thesis type EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY
Description Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) is gaining increasing attention due to the well-known issues related to water recovery and drought.
Silica-based aerogels containing solar-light active photothermal nanomaterials will be explored in atmospheric water capture under a broad range of relative humidity (RH) and temperature. The photochemical materials will be used to provide localized heat sources thus boosting the kinetics of harvesting process.
The aerogels will be characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption technique, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
The water adsorption and harvesting experiments will be carried out under various experimental conditions (RH and temperature). The efficacy and efficiency of the adsorbents will be explored in this study.
Part of the experimental activity will be carried out at the Department of Chemistry of the American University of Lebanon under the supervision of Prof. Houssam Rassy.
Deadline 13/07/2023
PROPONI LA TUA CANDIDATURA