CAREER: Bioinspired Artificial Channel Water Treatment Membranes

[1552571] kumar这个职业项目的目标是利用首席研究员（PI）多样化的工业和学术经验，建立一个以生物膜为中心的综合研究、教育和推广项目，用于水处理。这个程序是有关食物-能源-水关系的问题和解决方案。人工水通道是一种利用有机合成的新型通道，最近被PI证明具有与生物水通道或水通道蛋白及其目前的合成类似物碳纳米管相似的渗透性。这种研究方法有可能成为水膜处理领域的“游戏规则改变者”。本课题的技术目标是设计和合成一种基于肽附加柱状[5]芳烃通道的新型膜。提出的工作的中心假设是：溶剂相容通道将使实用的超渗透通道基膜的可扩展合成成为可能。该项目的科研目标是：1)利用模型肽附加柱[5]芳烃通道，了解孔径、疏水性和电荷等埃级孔隙性质对选择性和透水性的影响；2)探索肽附加柱[5]芳烃通道与嵌段共聚物膜的相容性，并利用这一知识最大化通道填充；3)研究肽附加柱[5]芳烃嵌段共聚物膜的结构和输运性质。可调节的孔径将允许这些膜应用于水处理和回用的关键领域，包括：1)饮用水处理，2)微咸水和海水淡化，以及3)废水回用。膜技术的紧凑性质将允许其在分散处理以及在人口密集的城市地区的低足迹集中处理实施。总的来说，鉴于水资源面临的压力越来越大，以及能源、粮食和水业务之间的相互联系，拟议计划的成功将对粮食-能源-水关系产生重大影响。该计划将利用生物启发膜及其与自然系统（如植物和人体）中水运输的联系，吸引各个层次（K-12到研究生）的不同学生参与多学科研究和教育活动。该计划的三个具体教育目标是：1)通过第一年的研讨会和研究参与，为不同学科的工程本科生（UGs）提供早期指导；2)评估大学常见的四种UG研究参与模式；3)扩大现有的以水科学为基础的K-12夏令营并使其多样化，并评估其对参与者的影响。

1552571KumarThe goal of this CAREER program is to utilize the principal investigator's (PI's) diverse industrial and academic experience to build an integrated research, education ,and outreach program centered on bioinspired membranes for water treatment. This program is relevant to food-energy-water nexus problems and solutions. Artificial water channels, a new class of channels made using organic synthesis, were recently demonstrated by the PI to have permeability properties similar to biological water channels, or aquaporins, and their current synthetic analogs, carbon nanotubes. This research approach has the potential to be a "game changer" in membrane treatment of water.The technical goal of this project is to design and synthesize a new class of membranes based on peptide-appended pillar[5]arene channels. The central hypothesis of the proposed work is: Solvent compatible channels will enable the scalable synthesis of practical ultra-permeable channel-based membranes. The scientific research objectives of the program are: 1) Understand the effect of angstrom-scale pore properties of diameter, hydrophobicity, and charge, on selectivity and water permeability using model peptide-appended pillar[5]arene channels; 2) Explore the compatibility of peptide-appended pillar[5]arene channels with block copolymer membranes and use this knowledge to maximize channel packing; and, 3) Correlate the structure and transport properties of peptide-appended pillar[5]arene block copolymer membranes. The tunable pore size will allow application of these membranes across critical areas of water treatment and reuse including: 1) drinking water treatment, 2) brackish water and seawater desalination, and, 3) wastewater reuse. The compact nature of membrane technology will allow its implementation in decentralized treatment as well as in low footprint centralized treatment in dense urban areas. Overall, given the increasing pressure on water sources and the interconnectedness of energy, food, and water operations, success in the proposed program can have a significant impact on the food-energy-water nexus. The proposed program will utilize bioinspired membranes and their connection to water transport in natural systems, such as plants and the human body, to engage diverse students at all levels (K-12 though graduate) in multidisciplinary research and education activities. The three specific educational objectives of the proposed program are: 1) Provide early stage mentorship to a diverse multidisciplinary group of engineering undergraduates (UGs) through first year seminars and research engagement; 2) Evaluate four UG research engagement models common at universities; and 3) Expand and diversify a current water-science-based K-12 summer camp and assess its impact on participants.