Project details

Approach:

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials composed of metal ions or clusters coordinated with rigid organic ligands. In recent years, MOFs have gained significant attention for their potential applications in various fields, including sensing in mineral processing.

The current project explores the development and application of MOFs for metal sensing in mineral processing, aiming to enhance the detection and quantification of metal cations into froth flotation.

We focus on synthesizing a variety of MOFs with specific functional groups designed to selectively bind and detect hazardous metals such as lead, or joint metal (calcium, magnesium) commonly found in mining operations. Through advanced characterisation techniques (SAXS-WAXS, XRD), we evaluate the structural integrity and adsorption capabilities of these MOFs in complex mineral matrices.

The main goal of the project is to develop a multi-sensor platform integrating MOFs with fluorescence detection to provide real-time monitoring of metal concentrations during mineral processing operations. This research not only highlights the potential of MOFs in addressing critical challenges in mineral processing but also paves the way for future innovations in material science and environmental monitoring.

Dr Anna Nikitina
Email: anna.nikitina
@unisa.edu.au

Profile

PUBLICATIONS

Nikitina A.A., Lavrentev F.V., Yurova V.Yu., Piarnits D. Yu., Volkova O.O., Skorb E.V., Shchukin D.G. 2024. Layered nanomaterials for renewable energy generation and storage. Materials Advances. Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 394-408, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3MA00924F

Baldina A.A., Pershina L.V., Noskova U.V., Nikitina A.A., Muravev A.A., Skorb E.V., Nikolaev K.G. 2022. Uricase crowding via polyelectrolyte layers coacervation for carbon fiber-based electrochemical detection of uric acid. Polymers. Vol. 14, No. 23, pp. 5145, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235145

Baldina A.A., Nikolaev K.G., Ivanov A.S., Nikitina A.A., Rubtsova M.Y., Vorovitch M.F., Ishmukhametov A.A., Egorov A.M., Skorb E.V. 2022. Immunochemical biosensor for single virus particle detection based on molecular crowding polyelectrolyte system. Journal of Applied Polymer Science. Vol. 139, No. 4, pp. 52360, https://doi.org/10.1002/app.52360

Nikitina A.A., Milichko V.A., Novikov A.S., Larin A.O., Nandy P., Mirsaidov U., Andreeva D.V., Rybin M.V., Kivshar Y.S., Skorb E.V. 2021. All-Dielectric Nanostructures with a Thermoresponsible Dynamic Polymer Shell. Angewandte Chemie – International Edition. Vol. 20, No. 23, pp. 12737-12741, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202101188

Andreeva D., Trushin M., Nikitina A., Costa M., Cherepanov P., Holwill M., Chen S., Yang K., Chee S.W., Mirsaidov U., Castro Neto A., Novoselov K.S. 2021. Two-dimensional adaptive membranes with programmable water and ionic channels. Nature Nanotechnology. Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 174–180, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-00795-y

Nikolaev K.G., Kalmykov E.V., Shavronskaya D.O., Nikitina A.A., Stekolshchikova A.A., Kosareva E.A., Zenkin A., Pantiukhin I.S., Orlova O.Y., Skalny A.V., Skorb E.V. 2020. ElectroSens Platform with a Polyelectrolyte-Based Carbon Fiber Sensor for Point-of-Care Analysis of Zn in Blood and Urine. ACS Omega. Vol. 5, No. 30, pp. 18987–18994, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c02279