AAQRL ANNUAL REPORT

Aerosol & Air Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL) Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering

Washington University in St. Louis www.aerosols.wustl.edu/aaqrl

December  2016 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH CLUSTER

PUBLICATIONS

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

CENTER FOR AEROSOL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

ACHIEVEMENTS

EXPERIENCE AT AAQRL

CONTACT

2 

AAQRL researches particulate matter in liquid and gas phase and its impact and application in en-ergy, environment, and health. Our focal area of investigation is understanding the formation and growth dynamics of aerosols, and their application in air pollution control, energy and environmental technology, nanoparticle technology, advance materials, agricultural and biomedical sector. AAQRL integrated by five sub-research group including (1) Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterization- laboratory with advance synthesis technology such as furnace and flame aerosol reactors, elec-trospray, aerosol chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, hydrothermal reactor.We have also developed strategies for synthesis of a wide range of nanoscale materials and their composites. Details about characterization instruments can be found at http://www.nano.wustl.edu/ (2) Solar Energy and En-ergy Storage- group successfully developed photovoltaic devices such as junctional devices, quan-tum dot, dye sensitized and bio hybrid solar cells including use of biomimetic self-assembled dye and efficient CO2 photo reduction system (3) Combustion (Biomass and Coal)- group is focused on fundamentally investigating charging and formation of submicrometer particle in coal combustion, advancing post-combustion particle and CO2 capture techniques and understanding particle for-mation during various stages of biomass combustion at micro environmental and regional scale (4) Nano-bio Applications- group successfully developed aerosol mediated nano-nutrient delivery to plants and developed nanoparticles for boosting plant biomass and yield. In addition group research also involved in sensor development for biochemical and molecular detection, drug delivery, nano-pesticides and their release kinetics, and nanotoxicity to ecosystem-environment and (5) Computa-tional Aerosols- The computational work at the AAQRL focuses on the modeling and simulation of various phenomena that take place at different time and length scales to address challenging re-search questions in the fields of aerosol science and environmental engineering. The modeling scales of interest span from atomistic scale quantum mechanical calculations, to continuum scale reactive-transport modeling and aerosol dynamics modeling, and up to large system scale optimiza-tion and control. Besides research, AAQRL developed self-learning educational module for the online education of aerosol science. To learn more about AAQRL publications, current research pro-jects, facilities, education, people and alumni please visit http://www.aerosols.wustl.edu/aaqrl/. AAQRL group always welcome researchers from across disciplines for collaborative research. Visi-tors are welcome to come, learn more about the fascinating field of aerosol science and technology, and see nanotechnology projects in action; energy, health, and environmental technologies.

 

 

3 

PI — MESSAGE

The Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL) in the School of Engineering and Ap-

plied Science at Washington University in St. Louis continues to make advances in Aerosol Sci-

ence and Technology with fundamental science studies driving innovative applications. Aerosol

science and technology deals with the study of fine particles and is an enabling discipline in a

number of specific areas especially nanoparticle technology. This short report outlines the activi-

ties of the group in 2016. We hope you enjoy reading about all the wonder accomplishments of

the students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting research scientists. From applications of state of

the art instrumentation in measurement of fine particles, to the development of low cost PM sen-

sors, to applications in energy and environment to medicine; the group has made several strides.

We look forward to continuing these advances, and contributing to the discipline.

Pratim Biswas

 

 

4 

ACHIEVEMENTS

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Pratim Biswas - Harry J White Award from the International Society for Electrostatic Precipitation

Ramesh Raliya – Bear Cub Challenge Award 2016

Yi Jiang - ACS Environmental Chemistry Division Award

Ted Cohen - SS and IMF Marsden Senior Prize, SEAS Award

Bedia Begum Karakocak – SEAS - Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Award

Shalinee Kavadiya – SEAS - Graduate Student Research Award

Shalinee Kavadiya – Student Travel Award – AAAR 2016

Corban Swain – First Place Poster Competition 2016 for the WUSTL UG Research Interns

Avery Caroline – Second Place Poster Competition 2016 for the WUSTL UG Research Interns

Yang Wang & Jiayu Li – Publication on evaluating low-cost particle sensor has been selected as a Notable Article of the journal Aerosol - Science and Technology 2015-2016.

 

PH.D. THESIS Yi Jiang - Nanoparticle Synthesis via Aerosol Route for Environmental Applications

Jiaxi Fang – Flame Aerosol Reactor – particle formation and characterization

Tandeep S. Chadha - Nanostructure for Solar Energy and Energy Storage

Miguel Vazquez Pufleau - Silicon Kerf Purification

PROPOSALS DEFENDED FOR PH.D. PROGRAM Kelsey Haddad - Thin Film Deposition via Aerosol Routes for Biomedical and Environmental Sensing Applications

Bedia Begum Karakocak - In-vitro Toxicity Assessment of Nanoparticles on Ocular Tissue, ARPE-19 Cell Line

Nathan Reed - Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Nanomaterials for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Jiayu Li - Modification of Condensation Particle Counter

Zhichao Li- Role of sub-micrometer particles in pressurized electrostatic precipitators and amine-based CO2 scrubbers

NEW LAB MEMBERS Sukrant Dhawan – PhD. Students, Advance Nanomaterial Synthesis and Applications

Sungyoon Jung – PhD. Students, Catalyst Synthesis and Environmental Applications

Clayton Kacica - PhD. Students, Material Synthesis for Next Generation Lithium Ion Batteries

Girish Sharma - PhD. Students, Modeling of Crumpled Graphene

Yanjie Hu, Ph.D., Scaling up the Nanoparticle Synthesis by Flame Aerosol Reactor

Liang-Yi Yin, Ph.D., Synthesis of Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 nanocomposite for improved photocatalytic reduction of CO2

Yixiang Zhang, Ph.D. Student, China Agricultural University, Biomass and Coal Combustion

Martin Yamane, UG Fellow Characterization of Silicon Dust and Beads for Silane CVD Fluidized Bed Reactor Optimization

Clement Koh, UG Fellow, Modeling the Particle Charge Distribution in Flames

Corban Swain, UG Fellow, Development of graphene based nucleotide sensor

Collin Wade, UG Fellow, Fabrication of Perovskite Solar Cells for Efficient Energy Conversion

Caroline Avery, UG Fellow, Identification of Graphene on NASA Plasma Reactor

Theodore Cohen, UG Fellow, Simulation and Designing of FlAR Set-up for Large Scale Nanoparticle Production

 

 

5 

RESEARCH CLUSTERS Solar Energy and Energy Storage The solar energy and energy storage group focuses on increasing the viability of renewable energy sources as well as utilizing light in various other applications. A project focused on the efficient generation of steam using solar energy was highly successful due to the development of a new reduced graphene oxide based material. Perovskite solar cells have shown remarkable promise but suffer from instability. Electrospray deposition is being used to fabricate perovskite so-lar cells with higher stability by replacing the usual charge transporting layer with an optimized and less permea-ble layer. Additionally, bio-hybrid solar cells are fabricated by aerosol-mediated self-assembly of photosynthetic pigments. Energy storage is a current limitation in the widespread adoption of renewable energy and our lab is investigating new materials for lithium ion batteries. The development of next generation batteries with long life time requires the exploration of new materials. Additionally, using aerosol techniques we are capable of synthe-sizing nanostructures, which have been shown to have higher performance when used as battery anodes in lith-ium ion batteries. Together these projects aim to increase the efficiency of solar energy collection and allow is storage for use during any time of day.

Nanoparticle Synthesis & Environmental Nanotechnology The focus of this cluster is on the use of novel aerosol methodologies for the synthesis of nanomaterials. We rely on single step processes for production of a host of nano-materials ranging from inorganic oxides to soft materials. Research includes not only synthesis but the characterization of particle formation and growth during synthesis and applications of synthesized materials. An understanding of the initial stages of particle formation are critical in controlling particle formation processes. To map out the mecha-nisms of particle formation, an ability to measure the size resolved chemistry is re-

quired. A high resolution differential mobility analyzer has been used to measure newly detected sub 2nm clus-ters during the combustion synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles. Synthesized nanoscale material is being used for wide range of applications including but not limited to advance water treatments, solar-energy and stor-age, biomedical, sensor and agricultural uses. Another are of focus for environmental technology is smart water infrastructure. This research work focuses on developing multi-scale models to monitor water quality throughout drinking water distribution systems. Novel modeling techniques were developed for the transport phenomena and chemical reactions that result in bacterial growth and loss of disinfectant residuals in water distribution net-works. The formation and transport of particulate matter and how it affects drinking water quality and user satis-faction is also being studied.

Aerosol enabled Nano-bio Applications The focus of this cluster is on the application of nanomaterials in biological systems. This research is rooted in understanding and controlling synthesis, using both aero-sol and sol-gel approaches, for directed use in these highly complex systems. The applications include not only biomedicine development for human systems but also fertilizer and pesticide development for plant systems. We have successfully devel-oped nanomaterial for cancer diagnosis, imaging, and non-invasive deep tissue drug delivery. The group have developed smart nutrient fertilizer to address food, energy and water nexus, help precision and sustainable agriculture. In addition, this group attempts to understand the fate of these nanomaterials and the impacts of human exposure to nanoparticles, both advertent and inadvertent. In considering the full spectrum of impacts of nano-biotechnology, toxicity and the potential negative effects of these novel particles cannot be ignored; there-fore, environmental toxicity based on nanoparticle morphology and composition was measured. A correlation between the mass, number, and surface area concentration, as a function of nanoparticles size, is being devel-oped to define LD50 for nanoparticle based toxicity assessments.

 

 

6 

Biomass and Coal Combustion The Combustion (biomass and coal) group continues to focus its efforts on understanding particle formation and characterization, and how it can be mitigated, during the combustion of different types of solid fuels in a range of la-boratory and field studies. A recent study expanded on previous work conducted by the group which examined the physical characterization of particles (particle numbers, particle number size distributions, PM2.5, lung-deposited surface area) for biomass (dry / ambi-ent), dung, coal, and pellets combusted in an improved cook-stove. In the follow-up study, the same fuels were examined using an AMS (for organic and inorganic speciation) and a TAG GC/MS (for PAH analysis); concentra-tions were quantified during different phases of cook-stove operation. Coal emitted the highest concentrations of PAHs followed by dung. A major find-ing of this study was that while dry biomass emitted lower concentrations of PM2.5, it also emitted a higher fraction of the larger (and more carcinogenic) PAHs. We therefore advocate the inclusion of other particle metrics along with traditional PM measurements, in cook-stove measurement studies. We successfully conducted a cost benefit analysis examining the factors that influence households to switch from cook-ing with biomass to non-solid fuels. Much work has been focused on evaluating the sub-micrometer particle capture performance of a pressurized electrostatic precipitator (PESP) and understanding how the charging status of fly ash particles affects its efficiency. It has been demonstrated that fly ash capture in the PESP was impeded as pressure rises due to more charges on particles exiting pressurized combustion. Two field studies have been completed to characterize the sub-micrometer particles in the flue gas upstream amine-based CO2 scrubbers, indicating varying operating modes of power plants may influence the particles injected into CO2 scrubbers and thus suppress amine loss. We are continuing our efforts on examining particulate and gaseous pollution using different types of solid fuels and advancing corresponding control devices.

Computational Aerosol The computational work at the AAQRL focuses on the modeling and simulation of various phenomena that take place at different time and length scales to address challenging research questions in the fields of aerosol science and environmental engineering. The modeling scales of interest span from atomistic scale quantum mechanical cal-culations, to continuum scale reactive-transport modeling and aerosol dynamics modeling, and up to large system

scale optimization and control. The areas of application include coupling aerosol dynamics modeling with computational fluid dynamics to simulate particle formation and growth in dif-ferent aerosol reactors, such as aerosol chemical vapor deposition (ACVD), flame aerosol reactor (FLAR), and furnace aerosol reactor (FUAR). In addition, density functional theory (DFT) computations are implemented for the computational materials design of nano-based chemiresistive sensor arrays, with a focus on their applications in environmental sensing and monitoring. For environmental modeling, reactive-transport models are developed to under-stand the fate and transport of chemical contaminants in environmental aquatic systems, namely drinking water distribution networks. The reactions pathways that lead to the for-mation of harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are investigated using ab-initio quantum chemical calculations. Furthermore, the environmental modeling scale goes up to the full sys-tem scale, where optimization algorithms are developed to find the best system operation and management schemes to ensure that the water delivered to the consumers is of the

highest quality, and is always in compliance with the regulations.

 

 

7 

2016 REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

1. Kavadiya, Shalinee, Tandeep S. Chadha, Haijun Liu, Vivek B. Shah, Robert E. Blankenship, and Pra-tim Biswas. "Directed assembly of the thylakoid membrane on nanostructured TiO2 for a photo-electrochemical cell." Nanoscale 8, (2016): 1868-1872.

2. Som, Avik, Ramesh Raliya, Limei Tian, Walter Akers, Joseph E. Ippolito, Srikanth Singamaneni, Pra-tim Biswas, and Samuel Achilefu. "Monodispersed calcium carbonate nanoparticles modulate local pH and inhibit tumor growth in vivo." Nanoscale 8, (2016): 12639-12647.

3. Patel, Sameer, Anish Khandelwal, Anna Leavey, and Pratim Biswas. "A model for cost-benefit analysis of cooking fuel alternatives from a rural Indian household perspective." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016): 291-302.

4. Raliya, Ramesh, Tandeep Singh Chadha, Kelsey Haddad, and Pratim Biswas. "Perspective on nano-particle technology for biomedical use." Current Pharmaceutical Design 22, (2016): 2481-2490.

5. Patel, Sameer, Anna Leavey, Siqin He, Jiaxi Fang, Kyle O’Malley, and Pratim Biswas. "Characterization of gaseous and particulate pollutants from gasification-based improved cookstoves." Energy for Sustainable Development 32 (2016): 130-139.

6. Jiang, Yi, Di Liu, Minjung Cho, Seung Soo Lee, Fuzhong Zhang, Pratim Biswas, and John D. Fortner. "In Situ Photocatalytic Synthesis of Ag Nanoparticles (nAg) by Crumpled Graphene Oxide Composite Membranes for Filtration and Disinfection Applications." Environmental Science & Technology 50, (2016): 2514-2521.

7. Raliya, Ramesh, Jagadish Chandra Tarafdar, and Pratim Biswas. "Enhancing the Mobilization of Na-tive Phosphorus in the Mung Bean Rhizosphere Using ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Soil Fun-gi." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 64, (2016): 3111-3118.

8. Wang, Xiaofei, He Jing, Bhupesh Dhungel, Wei-Ning Wang, Benjamin M. Kumfer, Richard L. Axel-baum, and Pratim Biswas. "Characterization of organic and black carbon aerosol formation during coal combustion: An experimental study in a 1MW pilot scale coal combustor." Fuel 180 (2016): 653-658.

9. Li, Shuiqing, Yihua Ren, Pratim Biswas, and D. Tse Stephen. "Flame aerosol synthesis of nanostruc-tured materials and functional devices: Processing, modeling, and diagnostics." Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 55 (2016): 1-59.

10. Raliya, Ramesh, Avik Som, Nishit Shetty, Nathan Reed, Samuel Achilefu, and Pratim Biswas. "Nano-antacids enhance pH neutralization beyond their bulk counterparts: synthesis and characteriza-tion." RSC Advances 6, (2016): 54331-54335.

11. Jiang, Yi, Ramesh Raliya, John D. Fortner, and Pratim Biswas. "Graphene Oxides in Water: Correlat-ing Morphology and Surface Chemistry with Aggregation Behavior." Environmental Science & Tech-nology 50, (2016): 6964-6973.

12. Nie, Yao, Wei-Ning Wang, Yi Jiang, John Fortner, and Pratim Biswas. "Crumpled Reduced Graphene Oxide–Amine–Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites for Simultaneous Carbon Dioxide Adsorption and Photoreduction." Catalysis Science & Technology 6, (2016): 6187-6196.

13. Lee, Myong-Hwa, Joong-Hyuk Kim, Pratim Biswas, Sang-Soo Kim, Yong Jae Suh, Hee Dong Jang, Suk Ho Bhang, Taekyung Yu, Jae-Hyuk Kim, and Kuk Cho. "Enhanced Collection Efficiency of Nano-particles by Electrostatic Precipitator with Needle-Cylinder Configuration." Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 16, (2016): 6884-6888.

14. Jiang, Qisheng, Limei Tian, Keng�Ku Liu, Sirimuvva Tadepalli, Ramesh Raliya, Pratim Biswas, Rajesh R. Naik, and Srikanth Singamaneni. "Bilayered Biofoam for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Genera-tion." Advanced Materials 28, (2016): 9400-9407.

15. Li, Zhichao, He Jing, and Pratim Biswas. "Capture of submicrometer particles in a pressurized electro-static precipitator." Aerosol Science and Technology 50, 10 (2016): 1115-1129.

16. Luderer, Micah John, Barbara Muz, Pilar de la Puente, Sanmathi Chavalmane, Vaishali Kapoor, Ray-mundo Marcelo, Pratim Biswas, Dinesh Thotala, Buck Rogers, and Abdel Kareem Azab. "A Hypoxia-Targeted Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Agent for the Treatment of Glioma." Pharmaceutical Re-search 33, (2016): 2530-2539.

 

 

8 

17. Abokifa, Ahmed A., Y. Jeffrey Yang, Cynthia S. Lo, and Pratim Biswas. "Investigating the role of biofilms in trihalomethane formation in water distribution systems with a multicomponent model." Water Research 104 (2016): 208-219.

18. Saharan, Vinod, R. V. Kumaraswamy, Ram Chandra Choudhary, Sarita Kumari, Ajay Pal, Ramesh Raliya, and Pratim Biswas. "Cu-Chitosan Nanoparticle Mediated Sustainable Ap-proach To Enhance Seedling Growth in Maize by Mobilizing Reserved Food." Journal of Agri-cultural and Food Chemistry 64, (2016): 6148-6155.

19. Haddad, K., A. Abokifa, S. Kavadiya, T. S. Chadha, P. Shetty, Y. Wang, J. Fortner, and P. Biswas. "Growth of single crystal, oriented SnO2 nanocolumn arrays by aerosol chemical va-pour deposition." CrystEngComm18, (2016): 7544-7553.

20. Karakoçak, Bedia Begüm, Ramesh Raliya, Josh T. Davis, Sanmathi Chavalmane, Wei-Ning Wang, Nathan Ravi, and Pratim Biswas. "Biocompatibility of gold nanoparticles in retinal pig-ment epithelial cell line." Toxicology in Vitro 37 (2016): 61-69.

21. Jiang, Yi, Pratim Biswas, and John D. Fortner. "A review of recent developments in graphene-enabled membranes for water treatment." Environmental Science: Water Research & Technol-ogy 2, (2016): 915-922.

22. Wang, Yang, Juha Kangasluoma, Michel Attoui, Jiaxi Fang, Heikki Junninen, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, and Pratim Biswas. "The high charge fraction of flame-generated particles in the size range below 3nm measured by enhanced particle detectors." Combustion and Flame 176 (2017): 72-80.

23. Patel, Sameer, Jiayu Li, Apoorva Pandey, Shamsh Pervez, Rajan K. Chakrabarty, and Pratim Biswas. "Spatio-temporal measurement of indoor particulate matter concentrations using a wireless network of low-cost sensors in households using solid fuels." Environmental Re-search 152 (2017): 59-65.

24. Wang, Yang, Juha Kangasluoma, Michel Attoui, Jiaxi Fang, Heikki Junninen, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, and Pratim Biswas. "Observation of incipient particle formation during flame synthesis by tandem differential mobility analysis-mass spectrometry (DMA-MS)." Proceedings of the Combustion Institute (2016) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2016.07.005

25. Raliya, Ramesh, Christina Franke, Sanmathi Chavalmane, Remya Nair, Nathan Reed, and Pratim Biswas. "Quantitative understanding of nanoparticle uptake in watermelon plants." Frontiers in Plant Science 7 (2016) doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01288

26. Hu, Yanjie, Hao Jiang, Yunfeng Li, Binqi Wang, Ling Zhang, Chunzhong Li, Yang Wang, Theo-dore Cohen, Yi Jiang, and Pratim Biswas. "Engineering the outermost layers of TiO2 nanoparti-cles using in situ Mg doping in a flame aerosol reactor." AIChE Journal (2016) DOI: 10.1002/aic.15451

2016 REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

MAJOR FUNDING AGENCIES

 

 

9 

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Calcium carbonate: A new weapon in fighting tumors The research team of AAQRL in collaboration with School of Medicine of Washington University in St. Louis, invented novel methods to create nanoparticles from calcium carbonate that were inject-ed intravenously into a mouse model to treat solid tumors. The compound changed the pH of the tumor environment, from acidic to more alkaline, and kept the cancer from growing. With this work, researchers showed for the first time that they can modulate pH in solid tu-mors using intentionally designed nanoparticles. The researchers set out to find new approaches to raise the pH of the tumor and do so only in the tumor environment. Som A, Raliya R, Tian L, Akers W, Ippolito J, Singamaneni S, Biswas P and Achilefu S. "Monodispersed calcium car-

bonate nanoparticles modulate local pH and inhibit tumor growth in vivo." Nanoscale, 8, 12639-12647 (2016).

Engineers develop novel hybrid nanomaterials to transform water Graphene oxide has been hailed as a veritable wonder material; when incorporated into nanocellulose foam, the lab-created substance is light, strong and flexible, conducting heat and electricity quickly and efficiently. The new approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam. A paper detailing the research is available online in Advanced Materials. The synthesis process also allows addition of other nanostructured materials to the foam that will increase the rate of destruction of the bacteria and other contaminants, and make it safe to drink. Jiang, Qisheng, Limei Tian, Keng-Ku Liu, Sirimuvva Tadepalli, Ramesh Raliya, Pratim Biswas, Rajesh R. Naik, and Srikanth Singamaneni. "Bilayered Biofoam for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation." Advanced Materials 28, (2016): 9400-9407.

High charge fraction of flame-generated sub-3 nm particles detected   Charging in flames significantly affects the properties of the resultant particles produced because of its influence in almost all stages of particle formation. The charging characteristics of flame-generated sub-3 nm particles were investigated with three enhanced particle detectors including a high resolution differential mobili-

ty analyzer (DMA) coupled with an electrometer, a particle size magnifier coupled with a butanol-based condensation particle counter (PSM-bCPC), and an at-mospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer (APi-TOF). Wang, Yang, Juha Kangasluoma, Michel Attoui, Jiaxi Fang, Heikki Junninen, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, and Pratim Biswas. "The high charge fraction of flame-generated particles in the size range below 3nm measured by enhanced particle detectors." Combustion and Flame 176 (2017): 72-80.

Surface engineered CuO Nanowires for CO2 photoreduction With global CO2 levels reaching 400 ppm, there is an urgency to develop impactful solutions for CO2 remediation. An effective approach to counter CO2 emissions is to convert it to value-added products, such as hydrocarbon fuels, which not only mitigates CO2 emissions but also recycles it as a fuel feedstock. we have discovered that a few nanometers of ZnO on CuO nanowires acts as photocatalyst for the conversion of CO2 to CO. Our results indicate a yield of at least 1.98 mmol/g-cat/hr and a quantum efficiency of 0.0035% on the experimental setup used in this work. This work lays the groundwork and design rules for future surface nanoengineered, all-metal oxide, nanowire photocatalysts. Wang, Wei-Ning, Fei Wu, Yoon Myung, Dariusz M. Niedzwiedzki, Hyung Soon Im, Jeunghee Park, Parag Banerjee, and Pratim Biswas. "Surface

engineered CuO nanowires with ZnO islands for CO2 photoreduction." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 7, (2015): 5685-5692.  

CO2 adsorption and photoreduction simultaneously achieved by crumpled graphene oxide With the rapid development of the world's economy, increasing amounts of fossil fuels are being consumed every year to meet the grow-ing energy demand. The burning of fossil fuels is widely considered to be the main anthropogenic source of atmospheric CO2 emis-sions. CO2 capture and conversion can reduce risks by capturing and reducing CO2 to useable products such as hydrocarbon fuels. Therefore, we developed a simultaneous CO2 adsorption–photoreduction catalyst, aminated, reduced graphene-based nano-composites consisting of crumpled r-GO with encapsulated TiO2 nanoparticles resulting in the formation of open core–shell 3D nanostructures, referred to as CGOATI. CGOATI nanocomposites were readily prepared using a one-step aerosol technique in a furnace aerosol reactor. The effects of TiO2/GO percentage, EDA/GO ratio, and synthesis temperature on CO2 photoreduction were investigated systematically. CGOATI nanocomposites synthesized under these conditions had a maximal CO yield of 65 μmol g−1 h−1, (the apparent quantum efficiency is 0.0094%), which is four-fold higher than that of pure TiO2.  This study offers new in-sights into the design and fabrication of graphene-based photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction.  Nie, Yao, Wei-Ning Wang, Yi Jiang, John Fortner, and Pratim Biswas. "Crumpled Reduced Graphene Oxide–Amine–Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites for Simultaneous Carbon Dioxide Adsorption and Photoreduc-

tion." Catalysis Science & Technology 6, (2016): 6187-6196.

Low-cost particle sensors for particulate matter measurement Particulate matter (PM) is an important parame-ter in determining air quality, affecting visibility, human health and global climate. The size of PM is closely related to the inhalation and deposition properties of particles in the human respiratory system. PM concentration can be quantified as PM10, PM2.5, or PM1, according to the mass concentrations of particles below the aerodynamic sizes of 10 μm, 2.5 μm, and 1 μm, respectively. Particle sensors offer significant advantages of compact size and low cost, and have recently drawn great attention for usage as portable monitors measuring particulate matter mass concentrations. We comprehensively evaluated three low-cost light scattering particle sensors. A brief summary of the characteristics of the three sensors was compiled, and the advantages of each sensor were deter-mined. The compact size and low cost of the sensors favor their wide application in tracking air quality in developing countries and heavily polluted areas, where the demand for monitoring particulate matter is especially urgent for the sake of public health. Large data sets obtained by the sensor network will make amenable applications of concepts of “big data” to improve the air quality. Wang, Yang, Jiayu Li, He Jing, Qiang Zhang, Jingkun Jiang, and Pratim Biswas. "Laboratory Evaluation and Calibration of Three Low-Cost Particle Sensors for

Particulate Matter Measurement." Aerosol Science and Technology 49, (2015): 1063-1077.

Capture of Sub-micrometer Particles in a Pressurized Electrostatic Precipitator Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) have been widely employed in controlling particles from various emission sources, such as conventional coal-fired power plants, due to their high mass collection efficiency, low opera-tion cost and capability to run under high temperature and high pressure conditions. Although the feasibility of generating corona under high pressure has been demonstrated, the size-dependent capture efficiency has not been well investigated in the sub-micrometer domain under various pressure conditions. In this study, the fundamental aspects of a pressurized ESP are explored by examining the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, and studying the performance of the pressurized ESP by measuring its capture efficiency of sub-micrometer particles including homogeneous NaCl particles and fly ash particles at the outlet of a pressurized drop-tube furnace. I-V tests indicated that the ionization by collision is impeded by high pressure. Experiments set up to capture fly ash in the ESP showed that with constant current, higher pressure resulted in a higher initial charge fraction of the particles from the furnace, which could facilitate the penetration of fly ash particles. To better predict the capture efficiencies of the sub-micrometer particles in the ESP under high pressures, a com-plete calculation procedure based on the original Deutsch-Anderson (D-A) equation and experimental data fitting was established and validated, which can facilitate the design of pressurized ESPs for controlling sub-micrometer particle emissions. Li, Zhichao, He Jing, and Pratim Biswas. "Capture of sub-micrometer particles in a pressurized electrostatic precipitator." Aerosol Science and Technology 50, 10 (2016): 1115-1129.

 

 

10 

Nanoparticles present sustainable way to grow food crops Low utilization of native phosphorous (P) by crops and high fixation of applied P had been a major concern in crop production for more than three decades. Any attempt to increase the proportion of root exudates would logically result in more symbiosis with the microbial community and enhance the activity of soil nutrient-mobilizing enzymes. The aim of this study was to explore the use of biologically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles to increase rhizosphere soil P availability for plant acquisition by minimizing the risk of nanoparticle toxicity. The physiological response, pheno-logical impact, and quantification of ZnO nanoparticle biodistribution in mung bean were investigated. This study generates new knowledge about nanoparticle farming that can address the current emerging issue of decreasing resource use efficiency with an emphasis on nutrients. The outcome of the study is a newer method for controlling and enhancing the availability and release of nutrients through basic and strategic research. The findings may help meet the challenges in technology development and keep pace with the changing scenario of world agriculture. Raliya, Ramesh, Jagadish Chandra Tarafdar, and Pratim Biswas. "Enhancing the Mobili-zation of Native Phosphorus in the Mung Bean Rhizosphere Using ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Soil Fungi." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 64, (2016): 3111-3118.

Flame aerosol synthesis of nanostructured material with unique characteristics Manufacturing of nanostructured materials and func-tional devices offers many exciting opportunities for substantial contribution in renewable energy utilization, environmental compliance, and product development. In the past two decades, gas-phase flame synthesis has not only proved to be one of the most scalable and economical technologies for producing well-

controlled nanostructured materials, including single metal-oxide, mixed-oxide nanocomposite, and carbon nanostructures, but also has been recognized as robust fabrication method of nano-devices. We focus our research mainly on the recent trends in specific applications of flame aerosol synthesis in the last decade, e.g., (a) usage of a substrate in stagnation geometry with con-trolled particle temperature–time history, (b) application of external fields to control particle characteristics, (c) development of ad-vanced spray technique for doping synthesis of nanocomposites of multicomponent metal oxides or carbon–metal oxides, and (d) fabrication of nanomaterial-based functional devices. For the possibility to improve the design and operation of flame aerosol reac-tors, we focus on (i) in situ optical diagnostics for either gas phase or particle phase in flame field; (ii) multi-scale modeling and simulation employing gas-phase chemistry, population balance method, molecular dynamics and nanoscale particle dynamics. Nathan Reed, Jiaxi Fang, Sanmathi Chavalmane S, Pratim Biswas “Real-time Measurement of Size-Resolved Elemental Composition Ratio for Flame Synthesized Composite Nanoparticle Aggregates using a Tandem SMPS-ICP-OES. Aerosol Science and Technology, 2017 (Just Accepted) ; Li, Shuiqing, Yihua Ren, Pratim Biswas, and D. Tse Stephen. "Flame aerosol synthesis of nanostructured materials and functional devices: Pro-

cessing, modeling, and diagnostics." Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 55 (2016): 1-59.

Engineered nanoparticles for ocular applications Designing safe nanoparticles is crucial due to the rapid growth in the use of engineered nano-particles in diagnosis and treatment of blinding ocular diseases. Especially, nanoparticles with flexible surface functionalization properties have been gaining attention in the last two decades. There have been numerous attempts on developing targeted gene and drug delivery agents; however, their compatibility with the target tissue/organ is often neglected. In our research, we aim to design not only effective delivery and imaging agents for ophthalmic applications but also unsure their safety with the target ocular tissue. We have recently reported a special metric: surface area concentration, for toxicity assessment of engineered gold nanoparti-cles. Furthermore, we have successfully developed biocompatible gold nanoparticles with a specialized hyaluronate coating which act as a Trojan horse with the ability of carrying large loads of cargo. We were also able to track the nanoparticles inside the cells with state of art imaging modality: 3D confocal microscopy. Recently, we developed near infrared emitting biocompatible carbon nanodots for especially in vivo imaging applications. Consequently, we aim to extend our research to real ocular applications to cure specifically angiogenesis related blinding ocular diseases. Karakocak, B. B., Raliya, R., Davis, J. T., Chavalmane, S., Wang, W. N., Ravi, N., and Biswas, P., “Biocompatibility of gold nanoparticles in retinal pigment epithelial cell line” Toxicology in vitro 37 (2016):61-69.

A model for cost-benefit analysis of cooking fuels Nearly half of the world׳s population does not have access to cleaner cooking fuels, and this is attributed to several things including the lack of resources (fuel), infrastructure (production and distribution), pur-chasing power (poverty), relevant policies, and a combination of these reasons. A household׳s fuel choice aims to minimize cost and maximize benefit, both of which are intricate functions of many factors. The factors influencing a household׳s fuel preference, and how manipulating these factors such as subsidies, improved distribution networks and user awareness will affect fuel preference is reported. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model was developed to study the fuel preferences of rural Indian households. Seven cooking fuels (biomass (wood and crop residue), dung, charcoal, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, kerosene and electricity) were ranked in order of house-hold preference. This work was an attempt to model and understand the factors and complexities that would influence a change in the cooking fuel preferences of a rural Indian household. The results obtained in this study demonstrated the critical features governing fuel selection and how these may be manipulated to encourage adoption of cleaner fuels and cooking technologies. Though this work focused on rural India, this model could be easily translated to both the rural and urban populations of other countries with only minor modifications

to suit the demographics, geography, market conditions and policies of that country. Patel, Sameer, Anish Khandelwal, Anna Leavey, and Pratim Biswas. "A model for cost-benefit analysis of cooking fuel alternatives from a rural Indian household perspective." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 56 (2016): 291-302.

Excessive use of disinfection agent may produce hazardous byproducts in the drinking water Water quality reaching the con-sumer's tap is largely dictated by the physical, chemical, and biological processes that take place in the distribution system. While chlorine is routinely used by drinking water utilities to inhibit biofilm formation or microbial regrowth in their distribution systems, it reacts with the residual natural organic matter leading to the undesired formation of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). A multiple species reactive-transport model (WU-MSRT – Washington University Multi-Species Reactive Transport) was developed to explain the role of biofilms in DBPs formation by accounting for the simultaneous transport and interactions of disinfectants, organic compounds, and biomass. This study presents the first attempt to model the formation of DBPs from organic precursors of microbial origin, which is implemented to investigate the role of biofilms in the formation and fate of known environmental pollutant, trihalomethanes (THMs) in the water distribu-tion system. The capability of the model to simulate chlorine decay, bacterial regrowth dynamics, and THMs formation in an actual water distribution system un-der different hydraulic, seasonal and water quality scenarios was demonstrated. These results highlighted the importance of integrating bacterial growth dynam-ics modeling with predictive DBPs formation models. The presented model can be used by water utilities to balance the risks of microbiological vs. DBPs contam-ination, by simulating different scenarios for the quality of the treated drinking water effluent from the treatment plant. The model can also be implemented to identify the locations where excessive microbial regrowth or DBPs formation is expected to take place, and to further optimize the operational schemes to insure safe drinking water supply at all points in the network. Abokifa, Ahmed A., Y. Jeffrey Yang, Cynthia S. Lo, and Pratim Biswas. "Investigating the role of biofilms in trihalomethane formation in water distribution systems with a multicomponent model." Water Research 104 (2016): 208-219.

Predicting nanostructure formation in an aerosol chemical vapor deposition process The aerosol chemical vapor deposition (ACVD) process has been demonstrated as a promising approach to the single step synthesis of nanostructured metal oxide thin films. Multiple process parameters control the nanostructure morphology and the growth of thin films. A finite element based com-putational fluid dynamics model, coupled with a discrete-sectional aerosol model, and a boundary layer diffusion and sintering model has been formulated to predict the evolution of particle size distribution and the morphology of the synthesized nanostructured film. The model enables scale up and wider application of the ACVD process and can be extended to other gas phase deposition systems. Chadha, Tandeep S., Mengmeng Yang, Kelsey Haddad, Vivek B. Shah, Shuiqing Li, and Pratim Biswas. "Model based prediction of nanostructured thin film morphology in an aerosol chemical vapor deposition process." Chemical Engineering Journal (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.10.105  

 

 

11 

EXPERIENCE AT AAQRL (Selected collection) I had the pleasure of visiting the AAQRL laboratory during summer of 2015 for 2 months. It was a very intellec-tually stimulating time that I spent during my stint here. What impressed me the most was the diversity of re-search & applications in different facets of engineering which the laboratory members were engaged into begin-ning from environmental sciences to nanotechnology, the group was engaged in cutting-edge research with wide range of applications such as agriculture, water treatment and medicine. I also observed that the other exciting outcome from the lab was the fairly active translations of inventions to innovations and patent filings; I felt that this was a fairly established expectation in the lab and had the graduate students and staff imbibe a complete understanding and training as to how research could be translated for societal impact. The regular presentations in group meetings were also simply brilliant with some very incisive and engaging discussions that generated pointers for further research. I also had a wonderful opportunity to attend the CASE workshop which helped me gain insights into different exciting areas of aerosol sciences and engineering. While I was primarily engaged with two of the sub-themes related to water and nanoparticle synthesis, I also gained valuable exposure to other areas of environmental sciences, air quality monitoring, healthcare and agricultural sciences. I was able to develop productive collaborations with Professor Pra-tim Biswas and other senior researchers in the lab, some of which I have been able to fruitfully continue towards joint collabora-tive work between WUStL and IIT Bombay.    Ravindra Gudi, Indian Ins tute of Technology – Bombay, India

 

During the summer of 2015 I was a visiting NNIN-REU fellow at AAQRL-WUSTL. Throughout the course of my project, the mentorship of Ramesh Raliya along with helpful insight from other members of AAQRL helped me to overcome a steep learning curve and develop my understanding of aerosol technology in diverse applica-tions. As a result, in one summer, I was able to complete a manuscript (published in Aug. 2016) and give oral and poster presentations on my results at the NNIN-REU conference. These were valuable achievements in project leadership that most undergraduates do not have the opportunity to experience, especially during a short-term internship. Chris na Franke, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Work hard and play hard”---the first day that I joined AAQRL, Prof. Biswas told me this was what people did at AAQRL. Yes, that was exactly true. You can easily see people working from 8am to 12am here, and we col-laborate a lot on projects, help out each other on experiments and paper writing. We play hard. You can easily see us at Blueberry hill or a restaurant on Olive after group meetings. PI, postdocs and students became life-long friends at AAQRL. I have learned a lot from everybody but I have learned the most from Prof. Biswas. He has profound knowledge on a lot of areas and always inspired me when I encountered difficulties. He is a busy person as a department head and a PI for a 20-people group, and many other obligations, but he always spares some time to us whenever we need him. He is a role model to me. He Jing, Corning Inc., USA

Working in AAQRL was a tremendous experience where I was lucky enough to be given the freedom to pursue research topics that really interested me. This forced me to think deeply about the direction and impact of my research and taught me to constantly question my assumptions. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to work on multiple projects at a time and work with interdisciplinary teams. All of the experiences during my time at AAQRL really prepared me for the challenges of starting company. Jiaxi Fang, Applied Par cle Technology, USA

My time working with the AAQRL group has been an incredible opportunity. I have had the chance to gain valua-ble experience synthesizing nanomaterials, developing biosensors, and performing spectroscopic analyses. These experiences have helped me to operate more independently in a lab environment and have prepared me to be a competitive PhD and fellowship applicant. Furthermore, the commitment that Dr. Raliya and Professor Biswas have made to mentoring me has been invaluable. Even outside research, Dr. Raliya’s consistent encouragement and motivation inspires me to strive for excellence in all that I do. Corban Swain, Washington University in St. Louis

 

 

12 

 

 

 

 

CASE: Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering AAQRL – an integral entity of CASE

The Center for Aerosol Science & Engineering (CASE) at Washington University in St. Louis is focused on the ad-vancement of science and technology of aerosol systems. CASE works to characterize fundamental aerosol formation and transformation processes to determine impacts on the Environment, Climate, and Human Health; and to utilize these processes to devel-op new materials to enable Energy, Environmental & Medical technologies. It is guid-ed by the research efforts of the seven faculty members: Drs. Axelbaum, Biswas, Chakrabarty, Husar, Thimsen, Turner, Williams. Several research faculty (Kumfer, Huang) and research personnel (Raliya) are also active members supporting CASE. The center is composed of a collaborative group of faculty, students, and affiliates within the department of EECE and across the university, as well as partners in universities and corporations dispersed across the globe. CASE activities include extensive col-laborative research with shared instrumentation facilities, education through coordi nated coursework and work-shops, seminars and discussion groups, and social networking events.

CASE International Aerosol Research Network

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Seoul National University, South Korea;

Yonsei University, South Korea;

Tsinghua University , China

Peking University, China

China Agriculture University, China

Fudan University, China;

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel

Boğaziçi University, Turkey

Washington University in St. Louis, USA

 

 

GLOBAL MEDIA ATTENTION (Selected collection) Choose your own adventure – The Source, August 02, 2016 Could nanotechnology end hunger? – OZY, August 02, 2016 Dirty to drinkable – The Source, July 26, 2016 Nano fertilizer promotes plant growth sans polluting water bodies – The Financial Express & Business

Standard, May 31, 2016 How nanoparticles could help improve plant nutrition: Zinc oxide particles boost mung beans’ ability to

gobble up soil phosphorus - C&E News, American Chemical Society, May 30, 2016 Could nanotechnology help us grow more food? – The World Economic Forum, May 30, 2016 This technology could help feed the 9 billion people expected to populate the world by 2050 – Business

Insider, May 29, 2016 How nanotechnology can help us grow more food using less energy and water – The Huffington Post,

May 26, 2016 How nanotechnology can help us grow more food using less energy and water – Associated Press, May

25, 2016 This could be the solution to our phosphorous problem - Conservation, University of Washington, Seat-

tle, May 13, 2016 Zinc oxide leads to sustainable crop growing: Nanoparticles help mobilize phosphorus in soil – The

Chemical Engineer, UK, May 05, 2016 Nanoparticles get more phosphorus from soil to plant – Futurity, May 03, 2016 Nanoparticles present sustainable way to grow food crops – The Source, April 28, 2016 Could antacids halt cancer in its tracks? Nanoparticles 'stop tumors spreading by changing their pH

from acidic to alkaline' – Daily Mail, UK, February 04, 2016 Submissions sought for Global Impact Award – The Source, February 03, 2016 New nanoparticles may help stop tumor growth – Business Standard, February 02, 2016 Calcium carbonate: Tumor-fighting weapon – The Source, February 02, 2016 Novel nanoparticle made of common mineral may help keep tumor growth at bay, Science Daily, Febru-

ary 02, 2016 International Conference on Advances in Energy Research begins in Mumbai – The Source, December

14, 2015 Scientists receive $13.7 million to develop new multiple myeloma treatments – The Source, December

03, 2015 Biswas receives prestigious award for environmental chemical engineering – The Source, September

24, 2015 Tomatoes get boost in growth, antioxidants from nano-sized nutrients – The Source, November 12,

2015 Tomato Plants: Nanoparticles Boost Growth and Antioxidant Levels, Researchers Say – Nature World

News, November 09, 2015 Global Impact Award winner selected – The Source, November 03, 2015 Applied Particle Technology honored by Midwest Cleantech Open – The Source, October 15, 2015 Two companies with Washington University ties among 2015 Arch Grant recipients – The Source, June

18, 2015 The Sustainability Exchange: Interdisciplinary class tackles real-world problems - The Source, April 28,

2015 Researchers find less expensive way to convert carbon dioxide - The Source, April 06, 2015

 

 

Brauer Hall, Room 3035 Campus Box 1180 1 Brookings Drive

Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO, 63130 USA

Lab: +1 (314) 935-6018 Office: +1 (314) 935-5548 Fax: +1 (314) 935-5464

Email: pbiswas@wustl.edu www.aerosols.wustl.edu/aaqrl

@aaqrl_wustl

www.linkedin.com/groups/8507593