NoonTalk@DIATI 23 - Transport properties of nanoconfined water for energy and environmental applications

Seminar with Matteo Fasano
ABSTRACT
Countless scientific publications and patents have been pushing forward nanotechnologies for energy applications in the last decades; however, a better comprehension of their nanoscale physics is advancing at a slower rate, particularly when solid-liquid interfaces are involved.

A better understanding of these phenomena is not just scientifically relevant, but it is also fundamental for decreasing the investment and time to market needed for developing novel devices based on such nanostructured materials.

In this seminar, heat and mass transfer properties of water at solid-liquid interfaces are presented through a synergic use of atomistic simulations, experiments and theoretical considerations.

First, atomistic simulations are used to perform extensive sensitivity analyses on the most important geometrical, chemical and physical parameters affecting the transport quantities under investigation (e.g. mass diffusivity, thermal transmittance).

Second, experimental evidences are employed for validating numerical results and protocols. The resulting understanding of transport properties of nanoconfined water can be used to provide experimental guidelines for innovative technologies at the frontier of interdisciplinary energy research, namely enhanced heat transfer/storage, less energy intensive water desalination and nanomedicine.

Prof. Eliodoro Chiavazzo moderates the discussion.

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