Gutzwiller Colloquium: Hydration in Bio-Nano Complex Matter

Datum

11.12.2023

Zeit

16:30 - 17:30

Sprecher

Giancarlo Franzese

Zugehörigkeit

Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Serie

MPI-PKS Kolloquium

Sprache

en

Hauptthema

Physik

Andere Themen

Physik

Beschreibung

Water is a crucial element for life. However, there is still debate on why it is so important. This is because the mechanisms that control the effect of water on biological and nanoscopic solutes still need to be fully understood. Additionally, the challenges of renewable energy sources and water pollution are two major environmental concerns that need addressing: hydrated nano-interfaces could offer new solutions for applications such as desalination, decontamination, energy storage, and heterogeneous catalysis for green hydrogen production. This Colloquium will provide a broad introduction to these topics, connecting them with the unique properties of water [1, 2, 3]. Using Statistical Physics to create phenomenological models and multiscale computation can fill the knowledge gap and guide us toward new applications. For instance, it is possible to understand how hydration water modulates the folding, condensation, aggregation, and adsorption of proteins in solutions onto nanomaterials [4, 5]. This is a crucial element in designing new drugs or drug-delivery nanomedical devices. Another example is how this approach provides a way to explore the feasibility of using graphene nano-sponges and slit-pores for the physical filtration of water from pollutants [6, 7]. [1] Coronas, L. E., Vilanova, O., Bianco, V., de los Santos, F., and Franzese, G., The Franzese-Stanley Coarse Grained Model for Hydration Water, in 'Properties of Water from Numerical and Experimental Perspectives', Martelli, F. ed. (CRC press, Boca Raton 2022). [2] Skarmoutsos, I., Franzese, G., and Guardia, E., Using Car-Parrinello simulations and microscopic order descriptors to reveal two locally favored structures with distinct molecular dipole moments and dynamics in ambient liquid water, Journal of Molecular Liquids 364, 119936 (2022). [3] Abella, D., Franzese, G., and Hernández-Rojas, J., Many-Body Contributions in Water Nanoclusters, ACS Nano 17, 1959 (2023). [4] March, D., Bianco, V., and Franzese, G., Protein Unfolding and Ag- gregation near a Hydrophobic Interface, Polymers 13, 156 (2021). [5] Dura-Fauli, B., Bianco, V., and Franzese, G., Hydrophobic Homopolymer’s Coil–Globule Transition and Adsorption onto a Hydrophobic Surface under Different Conditions, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 127 5541-5552 (2023). [6] Leoni, F., Calero, C., and Franzese, G., Nanoconfined Fluids: Uniqueness of Water Compared to Other Liquids, ACS Nano 15, 19864 (2021). [7] Bellido-Peralta, R., Leoni, F., Calero, C., and Franzese, G., Exploring optimal graphene slit-pore width for the physical separation of water-methanol mixture, The Journal of Molecular Liquids 391, 123356 (2023)

Letztmalig verändert: 11.12.2023, 07:36:16