Research Group: Number of Students: 1 Length of Study in Years: 3-4 Full-time Project: yes
Nanotechnology is a rapidly advancing enabling technology with the potential to revolutionize modern life. More recently, the application of nanotechnology in agriculture has garnered significant attention due to its high potential to facilitate sustainable agriculture and enhance food security. The utilization of nanomaterials (NMs) in agriculture has the potential to increase food yields while improving the efficiency of chemical fertilizer usage, thereby reducing the carbon footprint associated with their production and application. Despite these significant advantages, there is currently a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the behavior and fate of engineered NMs, which is a prerequisite for their real-world applications. When studying the behavior of NMs, a particular challenge lies in tracking them within complex environmental and biological matrices due to background interference.
This challenge is especially prominent when dealing with NMs containing elements such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), or zinc (Zn), which have high background concentrations in the environment. NMs are highly susceptible to their surroundings, undergoing chemical transformations, agglomeration, and acquiring evolving coatings of environmental or biological macromolecules. These processes may endow NMs with a new identity, distinct from their initial 'synthetic' identity, which complicates the detection and tracing of the transformed products. Labeling is a potent tool for assigning 'ownership' or 'source' to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and their transformed counterparts, and it has a range of other essential applications, including medical tracing and counterfeiting prevention. This project will leverage state-of-the-art isotope labeling techniques to facilitate the precise tracing of iron and copper-based NMs, which are used as nanofertilizers and nanopesticides. The project will combine conventional analytical methods, such as ICP-MS, with advanced techniques, including single-particle ICP-MS and synchrotron radiation-based spectroscopy and imaging techniques, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the behavior of these NMs in the soil-plant system, encompassing transport, transformation, and accumulation. The date will provide fundamental basis for the safe and responsible use of nanoagrochemicals in the future.
Application Method:
To apply for this studentship and for entry on to the Chemistry programme (Full Time) please follow the instructions detailed on the following webpage:
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/spcs/phdresearch/application-process/#apply
Deadline for application - 31st of January 2024
Supervisor Contact Details:
For informal enquiries about this position, please contact Dr Peng Zhang
E-mail: pengzhang@qmul.ac.uk
SPCS Academics: Dr Peng Zhang