Functionalized Nanoporous Membranes

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This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program is part of the NSF 98-20 Nanotechnology initiative and supports research in the laboratories of Dr. Joseph T. Hupp at Northwestern University. The research to be performed involves the fabrication of nanochannel membranes based upon facial-tricarbonyl rhenium moieties linked by pyridine derivatives or pyridine functionalized porphyrins. Specific topics to be studied include: ultrafiltration based upon nanochannel size or modulated ultrafiltration based upon oxidation/reduction of pyridine-alkylthiol functionalized cavities; affinity membrane separation that utilizes functionalized guest ligands to modify the interior of nanochannels; membrane catalytic reactors that are constructed by the encapsulation of chiral metalloporphyrins in nanochannels; and transport modeling of adsorption and transport through nanopores. Nanoporous molecular materials are expected to achieve very high selectivity and efficiency in chemical separation processes. These new materials may have applications in the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, semiconductor, and petrochemical industries.