Reactive Surface Nanodroplets

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Extremely small droplets are key in many industrial and technological processes, because of their remarkable properties originating from their microscopic dimensions. These droplets provide compartmentalized environments for chemical and biological reactions and exhibit large surface-to-volume ratio for enhanced heat and mass transfer between immiscible liquids. They play a crucial role in liquid-liquid extraction for separating or recycling harmful or valuable compounds, design of novel systems for chemical and catalytic reactions, formulating food and perfumes, optimizing pharmaceutical products, high throughput analysis and biomedical diagnosis, just to name a few. Despite the significance to a broad range of applications, it remains challenging to predict and control the behavior of droplets within changing environments. Our present lack of understanding of droplets and their complex dynamics means a major gap in our knowledge. As such, finding an optimal operating window to obtain desired properties of droplet systems in many processes presently still relies on trial and error. The outcome from this program will fill the knowledge gap and illuminate the fundamental properties of immersed (multicomponent) nanodroplets under various physical and chemical conditions. The long-term objective of the program is to lay the foundation for predication, design and control of complex droplet systems and to facilitate innovation in a broad range of droplet-enabled technologies. The short-term objectives of this program are to quantitatively understand the formation of multicomponent nanodroplets, dynamics of nanodroplets during surrounding phase transfer and in reaction with components in an external flow, and to explore the potential of droplet-enabled nanoextraction as a novel process in advanced analytic technology. The fundamental understanding gained from this project is essential and urgently needed not only for modern liquid-liquid extraction processes for time efficient microanalysis, or for compartmentalized material synthesis, but also on larger scales for wastewater treatment and interfacial catalytic conversion in biofuel upgrading and light harvesting. Drawing on interdisciplinary expertise from colloid and interface science, chemical engineering, analytic chemistry and nanomaterials, this program will provide Canadian researchers with the opportunity to lead this highly novel and important research area, and enhance the impact of Canadian cutting edge research in other relevant neighboring areas. Training of HQP is a key objective of the program. The program will train 2 PhD, 4 Master's and 10 Bachelor's students. The multidisciplinary nature of the proposed research program affords unique educational opportunities. Beyond gaining superior proficiency in core subject areas, the students will also gain many other sought-after skills.