Nanoparticles at Photocatalytic Speed!
Nanoparticles and their photocatalytic properties in action.Copyright 2015 Mohammad Reza Gholipour, Cao-Thang Dinh, François Bélandb and Trong-On Do. Nanoscale
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/nr/c4nr07224c#!divAbstract
Student teams learn how water filtration systems that use nanoparticles and nanotechnology can remove organic compounds from water. First they learn about the role nanoparticles play in water filtration. Then they are introduced to the basics of nanoparticles and nanotechnology, focusing on the impacts and benefits this innovative technology has on our daily lives. Using methylene blue and methyl orange solutions, students test for the efficiency of photocatalytic nanoparticles to sanitize water. They expose a solution sample of water and methyl orange (the microbe indicator) with their newly-made water sanitation filters under UV light (sunlight) to activate the photocatalytic properties of three specific nanoparticles. They visually compare them with control samples to determine the best photocatalytic nanoparticle to sanitize water.
Water is vital for human life and yet the availability of clean drinking water is a major issue facing society today. Exciting advances in the field of nanotechnology now allow engineers to build new water filters that may eventually replace filters that are currently in use—particularly those that contain petrochemicals or are made of harmful toxins that can potentially leach out. Nanotechnology engineers design and create nanostructures and specific-target nanoparticles that can destroy unwanted organic compounds and organisms in our water.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain how nanoparticles can have photocatalytic properties.
- Demonstrate the process of photocatalysis.
- Determine which nanoparticle more efficiently break down the dye by calculating the time when photocatalysis is complete.