Salts in nanoconfined systems – SINCS

The SINCS project aims at investigating phase transitions of aqueous salt solutions (crystallization and deliquescence, coupled to water evaporation and condensation) in nanoscale confinement; this situation is particularly important in many contexts including civil engineering, heritage conservation, atmosphere and climate science, and water harvesting strategies. As proposed here, nanoporous systems filled with salts can also be the basis for optical and mechanical functional materials. We will perform experiments with a variety of well-controlled model materials containing pores of different sizes, shapes, surface properties, surface roughness, and connectivities; we will support these results with analytical and numerical modeling.