The Drop Of Knowledge: SDG #9
μ-DROP: Unfiltered
“In a very real way, then, materials are a reflection of who we are, a multi-scale expression of our human needs and desires.” - Mark Miodownik
Preface ✨
Poverty. Climate Change. Inequality.
These are words that have been echoing throughout the world for quite some time. Most of us have developed empathy for individuals facing these problems, some of us donate to charities, while others created blueprints on how to solve the modern problems of the 21st century.
One of these blueprints is called The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (UN SDGs)
The SDGs are 17 goals that the UN and 193 countries ratified in 2015. The goals are problems in the world that the UN & the 193 countries want to eradicate from the world by 2030.
But, Carlos! 17 goals in 8 years!? That’s impossible! 😵
Nah. I believe that we just have to pick one; one SDG that can solve at least half of the SDGs. . .
Okayyy. . . but which one can do that?
SDG #9 🔨
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
You would be forgiven to assume that there is an invention for every problem our industries and infrastructure face, but that’s far from the truth. This is why we face the 17 SDGs.
Our modern technologies won’t have a bloody chance against some of the other SDGs if we don’t level up our industries and infrastructure.
But what are we supposed to level up, Carlos?
Materials. Like literally, materials. Lift the closest thing to you. (most likely your phone lol)
Now take a look at the space that you’re in. Everything that you use and interact with is some sort of material packaged nicely in chemical bonds. Using first-principles thinking, the modern world only follows the laws of chemistry (and physics), because it’s the laws of nature, the environment where we built our home. Even our cavemen ancestors had to follow these laws, too.
But why do we need frontier materials?
I believe frontier materials are the way to go if we want to solve as many SDGs as we can. Our current needs/problems in the world can only be solved with the discovery and development of frontier materials because the current materials don’t have the properties that are necessary to resolve our global problems. . . if we want to keep existing on Earth. Frontier materials are the enhanced version of the current materials that we have (or next-gen materials). They can replace the materials that run our modern technology, industries, and infrastructure.
What Can They Do? ⌚️
Some of these frontier materials include graphene, carbon nanotubes, diamonds, nano-wood, aerogels, quantum dots, etc.
Carbon nanotubes have high surface-to-volume ratios and can be functionalized with specific chemical groups to tailor selectivity in sensing. This means modifying the surface of the carbon nanotubes to detect specific particles.
Quantum dots could one day be used in photocatalysts to absorb sunlight and facilitate reactions to produce hydrogen gas in pursuit of a carbon-free fuel source.
A thin sheet of aerogel floating on the surface of polluted water absorbs water from below and solar heat from above. The absorbed water is evaporated and turned into steam at a rate that is 4x faster than the sunlight itself.
Resources! 💻
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© 2022 by Carlos Manuel Jarquin Sanchez. All Rights Reserved.
