Topic: adsorption

Investigate how water-soluble polymers bind to mineral and organic surfaces, soils, sediments and sludge. The project relates polymer properties to adsorption and mobility using batch and column experiments, surface measurements and mass spectrometry, and includes collaboration and student supervision.

Investigate how water-soluble and water-dispersible polymers interact with soils, sediments, sludge and model surfaces. The project links polymer structure and solution chemistry to adsorption, desorption and transport through batch experiments, flow columns, surface measurements and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Work is shared between ETH Zurich and Eawag in Dübendorf, with academic, industrial and regulatory collaborators. The full-time fixed-term appointment is funded for up to two years. The advertised start is spring 2026 or as soon as possible; evaluation began in January 2026.

Melissa and Jam examine how erasers remove graphite from paper. The episode connects the structure of graphite with the polymers and physical interactions that let an eraser lift a mark, contrasting absorption and adsorption and discussing what makes an everyday material effective for this purpose.