Mahamud Subir
Ball State University, IN·Chemistry
Plastics in rivers, lakes and oceans break down into tiny fragments, micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs), ranging from a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers across. These particles have a large surface area, so other organic pollutants dissolved in the water can stick to them.
- Fields
Chemistry
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
microplastics
nanoplastics
micro- and nano-plastics
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Determine thermodynamic and kinetic adsorption parameters of charged and neutral organic probe molecules at micro- and nano-plastic/water interfaces, using surface-selective second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance measurements.
- Reveal binding strengths and mechanisms through temperature-dependent adsorption studies, and relate surface functional groups on different plastic types to specific versus non-specific binding.
- Examine how environmental aging of micro- and nano-plastics, and particle size and shape, alter how organic molecules bind to their surfaces.
More about the research
How strongly and how fast that sticking happens shapes where both the plastics and the pollutants travel in the environment. It also matters for designing ways to remove microplastics from water.
Why it matters
Linking the surface chemistry of micro- and nano-plastics to how strongly they bind organic contaminants could improve models of how these emerging pollutants and the chemicals they carry move through lakes, rivers and oceans. The results could also guide adsorption-based methods for removing microplastics from water.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
James Sheehan
University of Alabama, AL·Materials Science
Measure and model how fast aliphatic and aromatic bio-derived solutes adsorb onto cellulose fibers during supercritical CO2 impregnation, using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM-D) measurements under varied process conditions.
Isiah Warner
University of Cincinnati, OH·Chemistry
Develop chemical sensors that pair GUMBOS, solid organic salts, with a quartz crystal microbalance so that selective salt–analyte interactions register as measurable signals.
Amy Landis
Michigan Technological University, MI·Engineering
Build a probabilistic material flow analysis of macro, micro and nano plastics in the US and Caribbean to locate the largest flows, losses and accumulation, including flows into compartments such as food and humans.
The school
Ball State University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $13M a year on research, 52 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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