New silica technology to clean water using nanotechnology | 02.22.2008 | 13:14:45 | Views: 6002 | ID: February 22 '08: A new nanotechnology application which coasts pure silica with an active material could be used to purify water, Nanowerk reported according to a new report out in the recent International Journal of Nanotechnology. Researchers at the Ian Wark Research Institute at the University of South Australia, Peter Majewski and Chiu Ping Chan "have investigated how silica particles can be coated easy with a nanometer-thin layer of active material based on a hydrocarbon with a silicon-containing anchor," Nanowerk reported. "The coating is formed through a chemical self-assembly process so involves nothing more than stirring the ingredients to make the active particles." The active particles are called Surface Engineered Silica (SES) and were able to remove biological molecules, parasites, pathogens, and viruses from the contaminated water, the nanotechnology news website reported. The researchers said that once the silica had been poured into the water, a filtration could take place using electrostatic attraction "between the pathogens and the surface engineered particles," Nanowerk reported. National Blueprint Tags: Public Health & Medical, Economic & Infrastructure.
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