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Monday, 8th October 2007 (4750 views)

A tenured professor of chemical engineering at Rice University has come up with a nanodetergent that uses gold nanoparticles and palladium atoms, which could provide an efficient way to clean up water that has been contaminated by toxic waste, according to Smithsonian magazine.

Gold nanoparticles, dusted with palladium atoms, work to break down trichloroethene (TCE) – a suspected carcinogen that lingers in soil and groundwater – into "happy byproducts", Professor Michael Wong said.

He explained that the chemical reaction between gold, palladium and TCE breaks the toxic substance down into chloride salts and ethane, which are relatively harmless.

The professor's team, along with a group of engineers, is currently planning to field test the nanodetergent at a polluted site using a real-sized reactor.

If the nanodetergent proves to be a success, Professor Wong's research could be applied to the cleanup of TCE at Nasa assembly plants, facilities owned by the US department of defence and science laboratories worldwide, according to the magazine.

Born in Canada and educated at various universities in California and Massachusetts, Professor Wong focuses his research on green chemistry and nanomaterials, among other chemistry-related subjects.

 

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