Molecular Scale Engineering of Polymer Membranes for Environment, Energy and Health - Livestream

Designing new polymer membranes with a set of previously unachievable transport properties will have an enormous impact on various applications, including energy-efficient separations, energy storage and health-related devices. The advancement of these technologies is dependent on polymer membranes which selectively transport only desired penetrants while maintaining chemical stability. Molecular transport in polymer membranes is greatly influenced by the chemical and morphological structures of polymers. Here two research projects are presented for designing new membranes using charged polymers for improved molecule separations. The transport mechanism in the polymer membranes is studied from the fundamental perspectives of polymer-penetrant interactions and templating diffusion pathways for selective transport of small molecules.

First, solvent-free, melt processed ion-exchange membranes based on sulfonated polymers are presented for water purification and desalination. Most membranes currently used in industry are prepared by solvent processing using large volumes of hazardous solvents. Despite the negative environmental impact, solvent processing is the only method to form thin film membranes on the order of 10-200 nm thickness. In stark contrast to conventional solvent processing, robust ion-exchange membranes based on sulfonated polymers were prepared by solvent-free melt processing, for the first time. The transport of small molecules in resultant membranes is significantly affected by different membrane formation methods.

Second, designing nanostructured polymer membranes for a new emerging biomedical application, “drug capture”, to minimize the toxic side effects of cancer chemotherapy drugs, is discussed. Typically, more than 90% of the injected drug is not trapped in the target organ, causing systemic toxic side effects. We designed 3D printed biosponge absorbers for capturing toxic drugs downstream of tumors before they spread through the body.

Speaker: Hee Jeung Oh, Pennsylvania state University

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