IIT Madras Study Reveals Water Droplets Can Produce Nanoparticles from Minerals

Researchers at IIT Madras have discovered that natural minerals can be broken down by water microdroplets to form corresponding nanoparticles. Know details here

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have discovered that water microdroplets can decompose common minerals into corresponding nanoparticles. This pioneering research marks the first paper from IIT Madras to be published in the prestigious journal "Science." Additionally, the study reveals that atmospheric water droplets, such as those in clouds and fog, can become charged through the presence of ionic species and contact electrification.

The disintegration of minerals creates nascent surfaces, which can facilitate various types of catalysis, leading to the formation of new molecules. These processes could play a crucial role in the origin of life. The researchers suggest that "microdroplet showers" containing nanoparticles and molecules falling on Earth might significantly influence the chemical and biological evolution of the planet.

The research was led by Prof. Thalappil Pradeep, Institute Professor, Chemistry Department, IIT Madras, a Padma Shri awardee, and Ms B. K. Spoorthi, the First Author of the Research Paper who has just completed her PhD from IIT Madras. The computational work was done by Ms Koyendrila Debnath under the advice of Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru and President of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

The findings were published in the Science Journal issue dated 31st May 2024 (DOI: 10.1126/science.adl3364). Highlighting the significance of this Research, Prof. Thalappil Pradeep, Institute Professor, Chemistry Department, IIT Madras, said, “Microdroplets are known to enhance chemical reactions, and as a result new chemical bonds form. We thought that it may be possible to break chemical bonds as well in microdroplets. That thought led to this discovery.”

Elaborating on the important applications of this research, Ms B. K. Spoorthi, the First Author of the Research Paper who has just completed her PhD from IIT Madras, said, “This finding offers a transformative technique for soil formation, dramatically accelerating natural weathering processes from centuries to moments. Beyond its environmental benefits, this method advances nanotechnology and materials science, enabling sustainable and efficient nanoparticle production with broad industrial applications”.

Natural Minerals Broken by Water Droplets to form Nanoparticles

In their experiment, they found that pieces of minerals such as river sand, ruby and alumina, which are very hard minerals, incorporated in tiny charged water droplets break spontaneously to form nanoparticles, in milliseconds.

They collected the formed nanoparticles and characterized them using advanced methods. Computer simulations indicated that the phenomenon, driven by a process called 'proton-induced slip,' involves atomic layers in the minerals slipping with the assistance of protons. Protons and other reactive species are known to exist in tiny water droplets.

This rapid process of weathering may be important for soil formation, given the prevalence of charged aerosols in the atmosphere. Soil forms through rock weathering, a process involving multiple factors and it takes 200-400 years to yield one centimetre of it normally, composed of varied particle sizes. Nanoparticles of minerals such as silica are crucial for the growth of crops such as rice and wheat.

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