RUI: Wet Printing of Carbon Nanotube-Enhanced Osmosis Membranes for Water Desalination

CBET-1510207张加州理工大学拟议的研究使用纳米技术来重新设计渗透膜，以实现具有成本效益的脱盐和净化水。特别地，提出了一种基于溶液的印刷技术来制造大面积的、垂直排列的基于碳纳米管的渗透膜。系统地分析结构-加工-性能之间的关系，将为优化新型多功能纳米材料提供基础。由这一概念驱动的变革性研究将有可能从根本上改变目前对新水处理技术的科学认识，以满足能源受限地区的水资源需求。这项建议的教育影响包括新的本科课程的发展，以加强学生？渴望终身学习。大量本科生，包括人数不足的学生和妇女，将接受化学、物理、材料和工程方面的多学科培训。外展活动将针对当地K-12学生和教师。该项目的研究旨在开发简易的丝网印刷系统，用于从液晶溶液中大规模生产纳米增强的有序渗透膜。目标渗透膜由聚合物基质中垂直排列的碳纳米管组成。碳纳米管将分散在可聚合表面活性剂的液晶中，可聚合表面活性剂作为取向模板将纳米管组织在表面活性剂胶束核中。将系统地评估与纳米管分散体的流变学相关的油墨印刷适性。在丝网印刷过程中，垂直剪切流将允许表面活性剂包裹的纳米管重新定向以在基底上形成垂直对齐的纳米结构，其随后将光聚合成对齐的纳米管-聚合物复合材料。最后，多孔聚酰胺将被纳入对齐的纳米管复合材料，以产生纳米增强，有序的渗透膜。这种有序的纳米结构将最大限度地提高快速水通量，并最大限度地减少垂直排列的碳纳米管分子通道中的生物污染。

CBET-1510207ZhangCal Poly St UnivThe proposed research uses nanotechnology to redesign osmosis membranes for cost-effective desalination and purification of water. In particular, a solution-based printing technique is proposed to fabricate large-area, vertically-aligned carbon nanotube-based osmosis membranes. A systematic analysis of the structure-processing-property correlations will provide a foundation for the optimization of new multifunctional nanomaterials. The transformative research driven by this concept will have the potential to radically change current scientific understanding on new water treatment technologies to meet water resource needs in energy-constrained areas. The educational impacts of this proposal include the development of new undergraduate curricula to strengthen students? desire for lifelong learning. A large number of undergraduate students, including under-represented students and women, will receive the multidisciplinary training on chemistry, physics, materials and engineering. The outreach activities will target local K-12 students and teachers. The research in this project is aimed to develop facile screen-printing systems for massive production of nano-enhanced, ordered osmosis membranes from liquid crystalline solutions. The target osmosis membranes consist of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes in the polymer matrix. Carbon nanotubes will be dispersed in liquid crystals of polymerizable surfactants that serve as an orientation template to organize nanotubes in the surfactant micellar cores. The ink printability in relation to the rheology of nanotube dispersions will be evaluated systematically. During screen-printing, the vertical shear flow will allow surfactant wrapped nanotubes to reorient themselves to form vertically aligned nanostructures on the substrate, which will be subsequently photo-polymerized into aligned nanotube-polymer composites. Finally, the porous polyamide will be incorporated into aligned nanotube composites to produce nano-enhanced, ordered osmosis membranes. Such ordered nanostructures will maximize fast water flux and minimize biofouling in molecular channels of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.