What New Sustainable Solutions Are Emerging from IIT Guwahati for Wastewater and Oil Spill Treatment?

Guwahati, May 1 (NationPress) Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have created an innovative, multi-functional aerogel that holds significant promise in tackling critical environmental issues such as wastewater treatment, industrial pollution, and oil-water spills.

Aerogels are exceptionally lightweight and highly porous materials featuring an extensive surface area and remarkable adsorption capabilities, rendering them suitable for numerous environmental and industrial uses.

While traditional techniques like membrane filtration and chemical precipitation are common, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have garnered increasing interest due to their efficacy in degrading pollutants.

In particular, Peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-activated AOPs are notable for producing highly reactive sulfate and hydroxyl radicals, which can dismantle complex organic compounds even in minimal concentrations.

The research team engineered a hybrid aerogel by integrating MXene—a two-dimensional material celebrated for its high conductivity and chemical reactivity—with carbon foam.

By incorporating phosphorus doping into the MXene structure, the researchers significantly enhanced its PMS activation capability, which facilitates the effective breakdown of persistent organic pollutants in wastewater.

Moreover, the aerogel demonstrated outstanding performance in oil-water separation. Its porous structure selectively absorbs oil and repels water, making it exceptionally efficient for cleaning oil spills and treating industrial waste.

This separation method is not just effective but also environmentally sustainable, as the team highlighted.

“This investigation illustrates how a single engineered material can provide diverse solutions to environmental issues. The hybrid aerogel we developed exhibits promising outcomes in wastewater purification, oil-water separation, and strain sensing, merging environmental sustainability with practical applicability,” stated Prof. P. K. Giri, Department of Physics and Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati.

Additionally, the developed aerogel serves as a flexible strain sensor. Its electrical resistance varies in response to mechanical tension, paving the way for uses in wearable technology, smart gadgets, and structural health monitoring systems.

This multipurpose material signifies a major leap in sustainable materials science, providing scalable solutions for cleaner water, pollution management, and next-gen sensing technologies.

Although the Ti3C2Tx-based hybrid aerogel showcases remarkable efficacy, its traditional HF-based synthesis poses considerable environmental and toxicity issues.

To counter this, the research team is investigating acid-free synthesis methods for large-scale applications. Furthermore, they are working on adding a co-catalyst layer to improve the performance and durability of MXene-based aerogels by safeguarding MXene nanosheets from degradation during catalysis.