GOALI: Separations with molecularly thin silicon membranes

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1159579McGrathThis NSF award by the Chemical and Biological Separations program supports work by Professors James McGrath and Philippe M Fauchet focused on development and application of porous nanocrystalline silicon (pnc-Si). Pnc-Si is a silicon-based nanoporous membrane that is more than 1000 times thinner than conventional membrane materials used in filtration and separation processes. The thinness of the membrane endows it with extraordinary permeability and enables high resolution separations in both convective and diffusive transport. Combined with the manufacturability afforded by the silicon manufacturing process, pnc-Si membranes represent an important new membrane platform with a wide range of uses in sensors, lab-on-a-chip systems, and biomedical devices. The work under this funding will elucidate the basic relationships between membrane structure and performance in separation processes. Manufacturing methods will tune pore sizes and other membrane properties so that the membranes are optimized for particular separations involving proteins, DNA, and nanoparticles. The ultimate goal of the proposal is an analytical and/or computational model that can predict sieving performance based on the physiochemical properties of the membrane, the solute, and the method of filtration. The results will allow the rational use pnc-Si and other ultrathin membranes for new devices such as miniaturized pathogen detectors and wearable hemodialysis systems.