The use of nanotechnology can provide new or improved functionalities in water treatment processes to improve their performance or efficiency. As part of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT), the Perreault lab is researching how to integrate nanomaterials in water treatment systems in a safe and sustainable way. Their work within NEWT covers the development of new nanoscale materials for contaminant removal, the fabrication of nano-enabled membranes for desalination applications, and new functional surfaces for fouling and scaling control.

Visit http://www.newtcenter.org/ for more information on the NEWT Engineering Research Center 

Selected Publications

Rice, D., Ghadimi, S.J., Barrios, A.C., Henry, S., Walker, W.S., Li, Q., Perreault, F. 2020. Scaling resistance in nanophotonic enhanced solar membrane distillation. Environmental Science and Technology 54, 2548-2555.

Inurria, A., Cay Durgun, P., Rice, D., Zhang, H., Seo, D.-K., Lind, M.L., Perreault, F. 2019. Polyamide thin-film nanocomposite membranes with graphene oxide nanosheets: balancing membrane performance and fouling propensity. Desalination 451, 139-147.

Mauter, M.S., Zucker, I., Perreault, F., Werber, J.R., Kim, J., Elimelech, M. 2018. The role of nanotechnology in tackling global water challenges. Nature Sustainability 1, 166–175.

Perreault, F., Faria, A.F., Elimelech, M. 2015. Environmental applications of graphene-based nanomaterials. Chemical Society Reviews 44, 5861-5896.

Funding source

National Science Foundation (EEC- 1449500)