Slovak Scientists Develop Smart Materials for Cleaner Water
Industrial activity and intensive agriculture have long placed a significant burden on water resources through a wide range of pollutants. A new generation of multifunctional materials designed for comprehensive water purification offers an effective response to these environmental challenges. Scientists at the Institute of Geotechnics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences have been developing these materials over the past two years within the AQUASYS project. Funded by the Slovak Republic's Recovery and Resilience Plan, the project is entering its final phase this summer. It offers innovative solutions for protecting water as a strategic natural resource.
The two-year research effort aimed to integrate three key approaches into a single functional system: contaminant capture, pollutant degradation and real-time detection.
"The ambition of the project is to develop smart materials that combine multiple functions within a single system. We are working on adsorbents, catalysts and sensors capable of responding to different types of contaminants while applying to real water samples," explains project coordinator Inna Melnyk from the Institute of Geotechnics of the SAS.
She further explains how the technology works: "Adsorbents act as traps, but the captured pollutants do not necessarily have to become waste. We developed the idea that trapped contaminants can alter the material's surface properties, enabling it to be further used, for example, as a sensor for detecting antibiotics. These photoluminescent layers function as an early warning system, monitoring water quality in real time and immediately identifying the presence of hazardous substances. Another component consists of nanophotocatalysts, oxide-based materials capable of breaking down even the most persistent microscopic contaminants, such as residual antibiotic concentrations in water, under light irradiation. Photocatalysts can be developed either as standalone materials or combined with adsorbents, thereby integrating pollutant capture and degradation into a single system."
The research successfully bridges theoretical materials chemistry with practical application by validating the effectiveness of the new technologies using real contaminated water samples. The result is a set of energy-efficient environmental technologies that could significantly improve the treatment of drinking water and industrial and municipal wastewater.
The originality of the Slovak research lies in the targeted surface modification of silicon dioxide-based materials. In simple terms, scientists can create active sites on the material's surface that function as microscopic traps for specific contaminants, including heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, and other harmful compounds.
The research outcomes of the scientific team at the Institute of Geotechnics of the SAS are intended for practical applications in industry, the removal of hazardous pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater, and environmental monitoring in polluted areas. The project directly supports European priorities in the sustainable management of water resources and contributes to the green transformation of industry.
Prepared by: Jozef Bednár
Photo: canva.com